A Letter from HCL’s Co-Directors

Dear HCL Community,

For nearly 15 years, High Concept Labs has enabled artists across genres and disciplines to incubate new ideas, discover new approaches to making, and build new skills. We have championed over 300 artists and collective projects through providing no-cost studio space, funding, and professional documentation, along with tailored curatorial, development, and marketing support.

Through this work, we have learned that artists need a platform to share developing projects, test ideas, and gain perspective on their work through conversation. This is where HCL’s Open Labs come in. 

These free work-in-progress showings invite audiences to witness the creative process and then reflect on the experience through moderated conversations with the performers. These events foster rare and important community exchange between makers and audiences. We believe that this type of dialog is essential for artists to find the resources and community investment required to be cultural leaders and visionaries. 

In 2024, we anticipate investing over $20,000 to cover the many “hidden costs” of free events like Open Labs: 

• Professional photography, videography, and audio recording that artists can use to apply for grant funding, residencies, and opportunities to present their work;

• Production and technical support, like lighting, sound, and video projection; and

• Access tools, such as ASL interpretation and captioning; and 

• Direct funding for artists to bring their projects to the public.

We invite you all to help us lay a strong foundation for our 2024 Open Lab series with a gift of any size. Together, we can create the arts ecosystem that Chicago needs and deserves.

Looking forward to 2024,

Aquil Charlton & Angee Lennard
HCL Co-Directors

To donate via a Donor Advised Fund, or bank transfer, or to learn more about the benefits of becoming a Sustaining Donor, Lead Presenter, or Sponsor, please contact Angee Lennard, Managing Director, at angee@highconceptlabs.org.