Michael Workman

House burning to the ground with you in it? Call the fire department. Ski-masked stranger with a chainsaw chasing you down the street? Call the police department. Wake up with an urgent need for art? Call the art department. That's how Mike Nourse views the Chicago Art Department (www.chicagoartdepartment.org), the fledgling art school he founded with Nat Soti and Nathan Peck. They have ambitions of growing the school into a teaching and arts center, and recently relocated it to a storefront space on Halsted in the Pilsen neighborhood. They've already started enrolling students for September classes. Newcity recently caught up with Nourse and Soti to discuss future plans for the Chicago Art Department in a neighborhood known for its culture of working artists.

Newcity: How has relocating to Pilsen changed the Chicago Art Department in terms of how you serve its mission? Are their inherent benefits to working out of Pilsen for you?

Nat Soti: We were running our old location at 1325 South Wabash out of our loft; the main benefit of this new location is having more public access. People can see you from the street. The old location was bigger, but it was inside an office inside the building. As far as hosting events and classes--see, we lived there as well, so moving to this new space was about having a separate workspace. And so far so good. We're excited about being in a neighborhood with a bunch of other art. It's an exciting idea for us--this neighborhood with these artists living in it and galleries--to have that as part of our "campus."

Mike Nourse: We had a great situation at the old space, but the reality is that walking around here is a much different experience for us and our students to come down and, instead of saying, "let's talk about photography," we can go next door to the Pilsen Photo Group. Instead of talking in abstract terms about art-making, we can bring artists in and our students can go around and see artists. That's huge. We're also really happy to have open hours. That's a big step for us to accept the public just walking in.

Newcity: Will you offer the same kind of courses you did at the loft? How do you think the new location will affect enrollment?

NS: We just moved in this May. Mike Nourse and I also run this video-production and design business, Zero One Projects, and so the first three months have been about getting settled in, and we're just now starting to offer the fall lineup of classes. We're expecting modest enrollment. Our classes are usually about ten to fifteen people. But before, we were running just one class, these themed-based classes: "Love it or Leave It," "Man vs. Machine."

MN: This is the first time we're offering five classes at once. Themes run through what we teach. Nat and I kind of believe in that; it's our personal teaching philosophy. It started with teaching out of grad school at universities and just being new to teaching in general: we started asking an awful lot of questions and what it came down to was that we like learning new skills or techniques, so long as they apply to a bigger picture. We have social issues we're interested in that we like to fit into whatever we're learning technically. "Love it or Leave It" was the first example of a class that addressed those issues, dealing with politics at a time when a lot of people were questioning the country and whether or not they wanted to stay here. And then, looking at that from a bunch of different levels: individuals, small groups, families and communities all the way to country and world then back down to individuals. We're not just working with technical skills and not just working with social issues, but trying to have a combination of both. I think it makes for a healthy learning environment. [More established] schools tend to focus on one or the other, and we've been all about trying to bring multiple concepts together: one of the things we first started out with as a concept was bringing "intermedia" learning into this environment. Trying to learn about multiple art forms at the same time. How can you learn something in painting that applies to video and vice versa? And we've really kicked up the programs a notch. Let's look at movement, drawing, DJing visuals, video production.

Newcity: How do you see the mission enhancing the experience of the neighborhood's art culture? What kind of public programs are you planning to offer this fall?

MN: We serve the art community in different ways, kind of like putting out the art fires, putting out art. Whether it's getting art out there and serving some need for expression in the community or, beyond that, trying to tip the scales a little bit where people can come in and instead of buying some art, they can come in and make some art. In September, we're doing the Second Fridays opening night, and we're going to focus on signing up people for the fall program. At the end of September, during the annual gallery walk for the district, we're doing what's called our CADIES, a Chicago Art Department awards show where we give our awards for artwork made by our students. It'll be a full-on red-carpet thing with paparazzi and tuxedos and stuff like that. So look out for that.

(2005-08-23)

Also by Michael Workman

Tip of the Week
Through an initiative called the Young Friends committee, a new art-film screening premieres, curated by Tracy M. Taylor and showing for one night only
(2005-08-16)

Eye Exam
It's a hot night and the Beastie Boys' "Intergalactic" blares out through the open windows of my car as I make it a Pilsen night once again
(2005-08-16)

Eye Exam
On Carpenter Street in River West, a small crowd is gathered outside the doors of the basement the Foundation Gallery calls home
(2005-08-09)

Eye Exam
More than a single series of vinyl letters, "You Are Beautiful" is the name of "an anonymous collective based in Chicago."
(2005-08-02)

Eye Exam
(2005-07-26)

My Crack-Whore Stalker
(2005-07-26)

Eye Exam
(2005-07-21)

Eye Exam
(2005-07-19)

Eye Exam
(2005-07-05)

Eye Exam
(2005-06-28)

Eye Exam
(2005-06-24)

Eye Exam
(2005-06-15)

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