HCL to Depart Mana Contemporary
Matt Bodett | Lost, lost at The HCL Lab at Mana Contemporary, November 16, 2018 | Photo by Marquisha Lu
After eleven fruitful years at Mana Contemporary, HCL will be departing its Mana-based studio in May 2025.
HCL’s programs will continue during a temporary shift to an itinerant format. Each of the 2025 Fellowship artists are slated to premiere new work in 2025 and early 2026 at venues throughout Chicago. Art/Access Labs continues for a second year with three hybrid events, co-presented with Unfolding Disability Futures at Experiment Station in Woodlawn. Plus, in the fall, HCL will present an educational opportunity for artists interested in considering accessibility concerns at all stages of the development and presentation of their work.
This transition is emblematic of HCL reaching a critical phase in its evolution. At the same time, the broader creative and nonprofit sectors are facing significant challenges. Thus, the organization has spent the last eight months working with The Practice Consultancy on developing a detailed strategic plan to carry the organization forward sustainably for the next several years through centering facilities, partnerships, and organizational capacity.
HCL will devote the rest of 2025 to deepening its understanding of gaps within Chicago’s artist support ecosystem, clarifying the organization’s vision to be responsive to today’s environment and ecosystem, and researching facilities and partnerships to allow HCL to reestablish in a space which will provide a stable environment where artists can thrive.
Along with this critical organizational strategizing, HCL continues its Cash Reserve Challenge to raise funds to establish a $50,000 board-designated cash reserve. Backed by two distinct matching pledges, all individual donations will be doubled or tripled.
We ask for your support during this time of transition:
Attend our Spring Open Studio and HCL Meet & Greet on Saturday, April 26.
Join the Mana Send-Off Party & Jam Session on Friday, May 9
Save the date for the HCL Benefit Performance on Tuesday, June 3.
Make a donation of any size to the Cash Reserve Challenge.
As HCL embarks on this next phase, our commitment to protecting time and space for experimentation remains unwavering, and we will continue to connect artists to resources, and advocate for critical investment across every stage in the development of new work.
Would you like to get involved? Email Angee Lennard, Managing Director, to learn more about volunteering and other opportunities to support our work.
