Randolph Street Gallery (RSG) was an alternative exhibition space in Chicago, Illinois, from 1979[1] until its closing in 1998 and a vital local force in the development of a variety of new art forms and the contemporary national and international arts milieu. Founded by two artists, Tish Miller and Sarah Schwartz, RSG began in Schwartz's living room, later moving to 853 W. Randolph Street on Chicago's west side.[2] The late 1970s, was a period when young artists in all disciplines were collectively founding visual and performing art organizations as alternatives to mainstream and commercial venues in many US cities.[3] RSG was one of more than a dozen 'alternative' galleries - along with many new 'alternative' theatre groups - situated on the near north and west sides of Chicago. The gallery’s focus was on the needs of artists and practitioners who created work that was unsupported, or at the time, perceived to be unsupportable by most commercial or institutional funders.[4] Randolph Street Gallery was also the locus for groundbreaking collaborative projects such as The File Room: An Archive on Cultural Censorship, conceived by Antoni Muntadas,[5] and was the publisher of P-Form: Performance Art Magazine.[6]
For nineteen productive years RSG fulfilled its role as cultural laboratory for Chicago and the general art world.[7] By the late 1990s, changing trends, expectations, and patterns of patronage in the arts took their toll on the gallery as well as on any of the other few comparable artist-run organizations in the United States (e.g., La Mamelle and the Capp Street Project in San Francisco, the Washington Project for the Arts in the District of Columbia) and the gallery eventually closed.[8]
Many of the emerging and mid-career artists who presented and experimented at Randolph Street Gallery are now recognized as leaders who have changed the context of cultural dialog. They include visual and performance artists, photographers, filmmakers, sound and video artists, writers and curators.[9]
In 1999, the complete archives of Randolph Street Gallery were donated to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) and include all available material documenting the nineteen-year history of RSG, a high percentage of which are original source materials. The archives contain historical records of performance, sculpture, visual and other art forms created or presented by local and international artists, artists’ portfolios, slides, posters, signage, photographs, performance art programs, publications, news clippings, publicity files, a variety of video formats, sound recordings, computer files, administrative records, and some works of art donated to Randolph Street Gallery for auctions and fund raisers.[10] Public access to the archives is possible on a limited basis and by reservation only. The Randolph Street Gallery Archives are complemented by an additional 33 linear feet of archival material from the editors of P-Form: Performance Art Magazine.[11]
Referencesedit
^Artner, Alan G. "To market...as an alternative" Chicago Tribune (17 Aug 1979: B12)
^Obejas, Achy "A Requiem for Chicago's Incubator of Performance Art" Chicago Tribune (23 Feb 1998: 1)
^Warren, L. 1984. Alternative Spaces: A History in Chicago. Chicago. Museum of Contemporary Art.
^Obejas, Achy "A Requiem for Chicago's Incubator of Performance Art" Chicago Tribune (23 Feb 1998: 1)
^Artner, Alan G. Muntadas' Installation Fits Current Thinking" Chicago Tribune (27 May 1994: 64)
^"Randolph Street Gallery Archives | SAIC Digital Collections". digitalcollections.saic.edu. Retrieved 2019-02-06.
External linksedit
Randolph Street Gallery Archive, School of the Art Institute of Chicago
P-Form digital covers and table of contents, School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Ellen Rothenberg's course, The Collaborative Project to preserve, process, and exhibit the Randolph Street Archives
The File Room. Initiated as an artist's project by Antoni Muntadas The File Room was originally produced by Randolph Street Gallery in 1979-1998 with the support of the School of Art and Design and the Electronic Visualization Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Two Chicago Galleries and Why They Closed by Victor M. Cassidy
Adrian Piper, My Calling (Card) #1 Meta-Performance (1987-88; 00:58:00) - include video file
Chicago Alternative ArtSpace Panel, April 2, 2008
Alternative ArtSpace Panel Discussion - includes audio and video files
An archive of video documentation of performances at the Randolph Street Gallery from 1987-1996 at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago's Flaxman Library.
Living Cross, Allyson and Alex Grey, Oct. 15, 1983 - Performance
randolph, street, gallery, alternative, exhibition, space, chicago, illinois, from, 1979, until, closing, 1998, vital, local, force, development, variety, forms, contemporary, national, international, arts, milieu, founded, artists, tish, miller, sarah, schwar. Randolph Street Gallery RSG was an alternative exhibition space in Chicago Illinois from 1979 1 until its closing in 1998 and a vital local force in the development of a variety of new art forms and the contemporary national and international arts milieu Founded by two artists Tish Miller and Sarah Schwartz RSG began in Schwartz s living room later moving to 853 W Randolph Street on Chicago s west side 2 The late 1970s was a period when young artists in all disciplines were collectively founding visual and performing art organizations as alternatives to mainstream and commercial venues in many US cities 3 RSG was one of more than a dozen alternative galleries along with many new alternative theatre groups situated on the near north and west sides of Chicago The gallery s focus was on the needs of artists and practitioners who created work that was unsupported or at the time perceived to be unsupportable by most commercial or institutional funders 4 Randolph Street Gallery was also the locus for groundbreaking collaborative projects such as The File Room An Archive on Cultural Censorship conceived by Antoni Muntadas 5 and was the publisher of P Form Performance Art Magazine 6 For nineteen productive years RSG fulfilled its role as cultural laboratory for Chicago and the general art world 7 By the late 1990s changing trends expectations and patterns of patronage in the arts took their toll on the gallery as well as on any of the other few comparable artist run organizations in the United States e g La Mamelle and the Capp Street Project in San Francisco the Washington Project for the Arts in the District of Columbia and the gallery eventually closed 8 Many of the emerging and mid career artists who presented and experimented at Randolph Street Gallery are now recognized as leaders who have changed the context of cultural dialog They include visual and performance artists photographers filmmakers sound and video artists writers and curators 9 In 1999 the complete archives of Randolph Street Gallery were donated to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago SAIC and include all available material documenting the nineteen year history of RSG a high percentage of which are original source materials The archives contain historical records of performance sculpture visual and other art forms created or presented by local and international artists artists portfolios slides posters signage photographs performance art programs publications news clippings publicity files a variety of video formats sound recordings computer files administrative records and some works of art donated to Randolph Street Gallery for auctions and fund raisers 10 Public access to the archives is possible on a limited basis and by reservation only The Randolph Street Gallery Archives are complemented by an additional 33 linear feet of archival material from the editors of P Form Performance Art Magazine 11 References edit Artner Alan G To market as an alternative Chicago Tribune 17 Aug 1979 B12 Obejas Achy A Requiem for Chicago s Incubator of Performance Art Chicago Tribune 23 Feb 1998 1 Warren L 1984 Alternative Spaces A History in Chicago Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art Obejas Achy A Requiem for Chicago s Incubator of Performance Art Chicago Tribune 23 Feb 1998 1 Artner Alan G Muntadas Installation Fits Current Thinking Chicago Tribune 27 May 1994 64 P Form performance art news https digitalcollections saic edu pform Hixson Kathryn Randolph Street Gallery New Art Examiner Sep 2000 50 51 v28 n1 Obejas Achy Randolph Street Gallery Closes Victim of Rapidly Declining Funds Chicago Tribune 14 Feb 1998 5 Hixson Kathryn Randolph Street Gallery New Art Examiner Sep 2000 50 51 v28 n1 Randolph Street Gallery Archives https www saic edu academics libraries special collections john flaxman library special collections randolph street gallery Randolph Street Gallery Archives SAIC Digital Collections digitalcollections saic edu Retrieved 2019 02 06 External links editRandolph Street Gallery Archive School of the Art Institute of Chicago P Form digital covers and table of contents School of the Art Institute of Chicago Ellen Rothenberg s course The Collaborative Project to preserve process and exhibit the Randolph Street Archives The File Room Initiated as an artist s project by Antoni Muntadas The File Room was originally produced by Randolph Street Gallery in 1979 1998 with the support of the School of Art and Design and the Electronic Visualization Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Chicago Two Chicago Galleries and Why They Closed by Victor M Cassidy Adrian Piper My Calling Card 1 Meta Performance 1987 88 00 58 00 include video file Chicago Alternative ArtSpace Panel April 2 2008 Alternative ArtSpace Panel Discussion includes audio and video files Erik and the Animals July 17 2005 by Erik Fabian An archive of video documentation of performances at the Randolph Street Gallery from 1987 1996 at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago s Flaxman Library Living Cross Allyson and Alex Grey Oct 15 1983 Performance 41 53 2 7 N 87 38 58 4 W 41 884083 N 87 649556 W 41 884083 87 649556 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Randolph Street Gallery amp oldid 1181418782, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
