Artists Central Exchange: Chicago’s Local Artist Co-Op & Community Center

Hey everyone! This is Feeny Fernandez here from Billy’s office. I want to tell you guys about this awesome organization and space in Chicago that we had the opportunity to visit a few days ago!

Whether you’re in downtown or Uptown, you can see that part of what makes up Chicago is its amazing art and artists. One organization in Chicago is helping give local artists a place to come together: the Artist Central Exchange (A.C.E.). We got to meet with John Burks, the A.C.E.’s creative director, and check out the space. The first time we met John was actually back in January when we were filming Billy’s 2 Year Anniversary for aChicagoThing.com party invite video. He didn’t make the cut in the video (sorry, John!), but we did him one even better: sharing with you all about the A.C.E.!

The Artist Central Exchange an artists co-op and community events center, John let us check out the space they have in Uptown/Andersonville for artists to showcase their work — even the floor is artwork! Check out the video above to see pictures of their hand-painted purple brick floor!

The A.C.E.’s mission is to “provide the community with a forum to express their minds and creativity in an open and free manner” by providing gallery space for local artists to showcase and sell their art and a space for performance art and art classes. Classes aren’t only for adults either; the A.C.E. hosts two youth classes as well (youth classes start April 30th and you can register here).

They also have two upcoming monthly events that start this April. Detroit Nation starts Saturday, April 9th and will line the walls of the A.C.E. with art and energy from Detroit and Michigan expats who are dedicated to improving the flow of funds, ideas, and energy between native Detroiters living all over the country. The Prop-IGVP Event starts Friday, April 15th, and will showcase that we CAN use and interact with media responsibly and in a way that reflects the better parts of humanity.

If you’re interested in working with the A.C.E. or know someone who is, you can contact John at [email protected] or check out their website www.artcx.com or on Twitter @ACEChicago.

Check out Amy’s interview with John about how the A.C.E. came about, his thoughts on the art among Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles, and even get a peek at some of the A.C.E. artists’ work!