Q&A with Blake Bradford

Hyde Park Art Center's Director of Education, Blake Bradford, was kind enough to answer a few questions about Creative Move 3.

I Am Chicago: What went into deciding to move to your new space?

Blake Bradford: I can’t quite describe the process that led up to our move—I joined the staff in the old space [the ballroom of an apartment complex] but after the plans were underway ... I know it was a carefully considered step in our evolution. My understanding is that we wanted to make a move that was in line with our significant history among Chicago art institutions. We were founded as a Works Progress Administration project in 1939 and had been around for more than 60 years, helping artists such as Jim Nutt and Karl Wirsum emerge on the national stage. And yet we were hard to find and define, even for Hyde Parkers.

IAC: Why does HPAC choose to celebrate their move with a 24-hr party?

BB: The inaugural Creative Move was a 36 hour party. It was a celebration of our new space, all that was going on, and all the people who helped us get here. We couldn’t fit it all in to the time frame of our regular openings. We shaved it down to 24 hours last year.

IAC: What are you most excited about for Creative Move 3? What do you hope people will enjoy most about Creative Move 3 or get out of it?

BB: I’m most excited about seeing all the people who are being introduced to the Art Center. We still have people, from all over the South Side, who ask “There’s an art center in Hyde Park?” I have great hopes that many of them will begin to see themselves as cultural participants and that there are nearby opportunities to engage with the cultural life of the city. Also, I’m incredibly excited about Istria’s [a cafe inside the museum] grand opening.

Q&A with...

Bill Allegrezza



Today's blog is a Q&A with Bill Allegrezza, an English lecturer at Indiana University Northwest. Allegrezza has organized a monthly experimental reading series at Hyde Park Art Center known simply as Series A (a nod to modernist poet Louis Zukofsky's major work "A"). Tommorrow, the Art Center and Allegrezza will welcome Gabe Gudding, Tony Trigillo, and Tony Barnstone for the March installment of the series. Read on for more about the origins of Series A and experimental writing in Chicago.

I Am Chicago: Why did you start this reading series?

Bill Allegrezza: I started the reading series primarily because I think Chicago needs more venues to showcase its talent. I also started the series because I believe that Chicago has become a hot spot for experimental/innovative writers to collect, so I wanted a space for them to be able to read their works. Part of the decision also involved trying to put innovative fiction writers and poets in the same room to read. Currently, most reading venues in the city are either one or the other, so the writing crowds often do not overlap.

IAC: Why do you feel Chicago "has become a hot spot for experimental/innovative writers to collect"?

BA: Between 2000-2007, many innovative poets moved to the city, and many reading venues opened, presses started, and e-zines flourished. At the same time, students of influential teachers like Paul Hoover and Michael Anania started creating work and establishing poetic communities. All of those things together created a buzz, which has helped expand the experimental/innovative community and has brought attention to it from around the country.

IAC: What is the selection process like? How did the readers who will be presenting tomorrow get to be a part of the series?

BA: I pick writers I think will match well together. My process is somewhat haphazard. I solicit writers occasionally. Sometimes they solicit me, especially if they are already coming through town on a book tour. Sometimes writers suggest writers they would like to hear. I only book writers if I know something about their works, and often I know quite a bit about the writers who are reading in the series.

The readers for this month were a mix of the above. Since I know their works, I'm very excited to hear them read.

IAC: How would you define experimental writing? What is its draw and appeal?

BA: I typically don't define experimental writing to avoid the argument about what it is. So many writers feel that their work is "experimental." I view the term more as a tradition. In poetry I would point to the line of writers that works its way from Pound through groups like the Black Mountain writers to the Language poets to the current Post-Avant trends. In fiction the tradition is different but also distinct. I would point to writers considered Postmodern and those following them in the non-linear tradition.

IAC: Do you have a similar reading series at Indiana University Northwest? Why have the reading series in Chicago? at the Art Center?

BA: I do not host a similar reading series at Indiana University Northwest, and I have it in Chicago primarily to focus on what is happening in the city and surrounding areas. I picked the South Side because there are not many major reading series there; plus, the Hyde Park Art Center is a wonderful space, full of art and energy, so I hope the reading series brings people there as well.


Series A featuring Gabe Gudding, Tony Trigillo, and Tony Barnstone will be at the Hyde Park Art Center's (5020 S. Cornell) 4833 Muller Meeting Room @ 7pm.