this is the place

Azadeh (Azi) Gholizadeh, is a Chicago-based artist and architect. Born in Tehran, Gholizadeh received her MA in architecture from Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST) in 2009, and her MFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2012. In her current practice Azadeh explores body, landscape and fragmentation of identity and place by examining one’s own emotional connections to belonging. She has participated in group shows at Hyde Park Art center, Heaven Gallery and Goldfinch's Flatfile among others. Gholizadeh was an artist in residence at the BOLT Residency and ACRE.

Cathy Hsiao is an artist working in Chicago. She comes from a background in craft, specifically weaving animal fibers dyed with plants, raised by a devout Falun Dafa Buddhist mother. “Plant and Animal Studio” keeps this name as acknowledgement to those histories. She holds a BA from the University of California Berkeley and a MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2017). She has been awarded the 2016 Emerging Illinois Artists Triennial Juror Prize, curator Kelly Shindler, the New Artist Society Fellowship, School of the Art Institute (2014 – 2017), a Peripheral Vision Arts Fellowship, and a Cornell School of Criticism and Theory Certificate among others.

Jason Lalor’s practice includes photography, rotoscope animation, projection, spoken word and code aimed at creating multimedia portraits (and landscapes) that investigate the people, places, and dynamics of the African-Caribbean diaspora. He uses new media and portraiture to provide an interface for human movement and computer processes, investigating the space between corporeality and abstraction. Lalor’s work has been exhibited at the Museum of Art | Fort Lauderdale, FL; Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, NY; Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning, Queens, NY; Casita Maria Center for Arts and Education, Bronx, NY; and FATVillage Projects, Fort Lauderdale, FL. Past residencies include ACRE (Steuben, WI), Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning (Queens, NY), and Casita Maria (Bronx, NY), as well as membership in Civic Hall Labs’ accelerator program (NYC).

Elizabeth Lalley is a Chicago-based writer, independent curator, and the assistant director of Goldfinch Projects. She received an MA in Museum & Exhibition Studies from the University of Illinois-Chicago, and holds a BA from the University of Michingan where she received the Academy of American Poets Award. Elizabeth has worked for the Chicago Artists Coalition, the Smithsonian Center for Folklife & Cultural Heritage, and the University of Michigan Department of English. She is also a contributor to Newcity and Chicago Artist Writers.