Residency Programs
High Concept Labs has awarded artist residencies to more than 300 artists and artistic groups across genres and disciplines since 2009, providing an accessible residency environment of experimentation and discovery that supports artists to flourish.
In 2019 we expanded the flagship Artist in Residency (AIR) to year-long support which includes stipends, free studio hours, documentation, curation, grant writing, and marketing.
The balance includes up to fifteen artist/collectives supported through the year-long residency: FAR, for returning Fellows, PAR, for partner-sponsored artists, and LabX, for international artists, leveraging resources for up to 20 artists/collectives annually.
2024 Resident Artists
HCL will support KT in the development of The One Horn, a piece featuring a lifesize rhinoceros puppet based on a real animal from history that sparked an obsession both to possess it and to consume its image. The piece is inspired by the paradox of a rhino in Renaissance Europe, stolen from its habitat and transplanted on a sailing ship, to a palace, a combat arena, and eventually sent to its final destination: Vatican City.
HCL is supporting Haruhi Kobayashi in the development of Sonic Playground, an evolving multi-channel sonic sculptural artwork. Haruhi’s explorations will revolve around the pursuit of acoustically intricate sonic sculptural forms, enriched by collaboration and cultural diversity. Through extensive experimentation, she will probe the acoustic properties of spaces to find balance between content and environment.
With support from High Concept Labs, Christopher Knowlton is exploring the deification of new technologies, the implications of artificial intelligence (AI) for dance, and the distinction between generative and extractive AI.
HCL will be supporting Carissa Lee in the development and expansion of a performance art piece that centers around the experiences of women. Carissa Lee’s work is about Black exhalation. Building on work initially performed at Steppenwolf Theater, Carissa will use this residency as an opportunity to deepen the narrative, introduce new themes, and expand the scope of the work. Carissa’s research will center around her family archive.
With support from HCL, Bradford Chin, will be exploring the use of Audio Description (“AD”) as the primary generative device in creating and presenting a dance work. Using text-based, non-body-specific movement instructions (“descriptors”) to construct the choreographic arc and the narrative and emotional landscape of the performance, Bradford will facilitate efforts toward a Disability Justice politic.
As Rigo transitions to a Fellow Artist in Residence, HCL will be supporting the continued development of his Research Lab series. This innovative initiative, informed by Rigo’s seasoned experiences as a facilitator, strives to be a haven for artistic movers driven by curiosity and a passion for uninhibited self-expression.
HCL is supporting Sofía to develop collective actions with collaborators from Mexico City and Chicago. She is also continuing Ciclos, a series of performances with Sofía Fernández Díaz that plays with the idea of performance as a ritual to honor the innate female connection with nature by creating large scale paintings using the body, organic materials and crafted tools.
In her second year with HCL, Helen will use curiosity to pull apart and lean into joy and grief and find proliferation within them. She will experiment with risk and failure in the process of looking at grief and joy and to find play in the process of not knowing what will be discovered.
HCL continues to support Regina in developing an audio-visual live performance series guided by the name, holding stones. Each gathering presents a sound story set to experimentations with multi-channel light, shadow and video projection.
HCL proudly supports Allen Moore in the ongoing development of The Black Arcade Collaborative, a groundbreaking audio and visual exploration delving into themes of grief, black mortality, afrofuturism, and the sonic aesthetic of the black imagination. The project encompasses a multifaceted approach, incorporating the merging of sound and visual elements.
2023 Resident Artists
Photo Credit: Julia Comita
As Rigo transitions to a Fellow Artist in Residence, HCL will be supporting the continued development of his Research Lab series. This innovative initiative, informed by Rigo’s seasoned experiences as a facilitator, strives to be a haven for artistic movers driven by curiosity and a passion for uninhibited self-expression.
HCL is supporting Sofía to develop collective actions with collaborators from Mexico City and Chicago. She is also continuing Ciclos, a series of performances with Sofía Fernández Díaz that plays with the idea of performance as a ritual to honor the innate female connection with nature by creating large scale paintings using the body, organic materials and crafted tools.
In her second year with HCL, Helen will use curiosity to pull apart and lean into joy and grief and find proliferation within them. She will experiment with risk and failure in the process of looking at grief and joy and to find play in the process of not knowing what will be discovered.
HCL continues to support Regina in developing an audio-visual live performance series guided by the name, holding stones. Each gathering presents a sound story set to experimentations with multi-channel light, shadow and video projection.
HCL proudly supports Allen Moore in the ongoing development of The Black Arcade Collaborative, a groundbreaking audio and visual exploration delving into themes of grief, black mortality, afrofuturism, and the sonic aesthetic of the black imagination. The project encompasses a multifaceted approach, incorporating the merging of sound and visual elements.
Photo Credit: Jansen Bridge
Photo Credit: Matthew Gregory Hollis
About our programs
About the Studio
HCL’s main studio is located on the 4th floor of Mana Contemporary, a multi-arts facility located between Chinatown; Bridgeport, home of a large community of Irish and Central Europe descent; and Pilsen and La Villita, Chicago’s two largest historically Mexican-American neighborhoods. The studio 1,700 square feet, equipped with Marley-faced sprung wood flooring, a 6’ Steinway piano, a PA system and projection equipment. Artists have access to additional onsite storage and the potential to use additional shared spaces at Mana Contemporary for both performance, workshop, rehearsal, and general meetings and administration based on request and availability.
Full inventory and specs are available upon request.
HCL is in joint residency with Monira Foundation at Mana Contemporary.
Photo Credit: Kirstie Shanley, Hedwig Dance performance at HCL Open House (2018)
Photo courtesy of the artist