LEVEL, held September 11 – 20, 2014, is a free, ten-day annual architecture and art event that showcases site specific and often experimental interactive installations that embrace Chicago’s rich cultural landscape.  During LEVEL, architects, designers and artists transform unique, hidden spaces within the Downtown Chicago Loop into destination places for visitors and locals alike.  LEVEL is being held during EXPO CHICAGO contemporary art fair as a complementary design and new media experience.

The 2014 LEVEL presentation will consist of 11+ installations located in the Downtown Chicago Loop and riverfront.  LEVEL aims to engage and educate the viewer through interventions specifically designed for individual sites.  This results in an experience that draws attention to the architectural past, while providing a fresh, contemporary perspective.

LEVEL exhibition spaces include unseen, unused, or underutilized locales in Downtown Chicago.  Sites selected showcase rooftops, private courtyards and lobbies, empty buildings and storefronts, and other unique architectural places that are often inaccessible to the public.  These historic sites are easily walked by unnoticed, literally hidden from view, waiting to be exposed during LEVEL.  Uncovering these spaces via a self-guided walking discovery tour of Downtown Chicago, combined with site-specific contemporary architecture and art interventions, exemplifies the LEVEL experience.

Participants for LEVEL 2014 are selected by a local Chicago Host Committee and Exhibition Director/Curator, Melissa Urcan via invitation and an RFP process.  The RFP is open to local, national and international artists and designers, and closes June 20, 2014.  LEVEL 2014 Request for Proposals are Available Here.  TheLEVEL 2014 Host Committee includes Brad Lynch, AIA, Partner – Brinistool+Lynch; Patricia Natke, Founding Partner, UrbanWorks; Obi Nwazota, Owner, Orangeskin; Sabrina Raaf, New Media Arts School of Art & Art History, UIC, Chicago; Marcin Szef, Designer, John Ronan Architects; and Ed Uhlir, FAIA, Executive Director, Millennium Park.

Dates/Times

August 14, 2014 – Preview Event 7pm – 10pm

Thursday, September 11 – VIP/Press Opening Open 7pm – 10pm

Friday, September 12 – Saturday, September 20 – Public Exhibition; Open 7pm – 11pm weekend nights and 7pm – 10pm Sun – Thurs.

Saturday, September 13 – Symposium 5pm – 7pm

(Additional lectures at partnering universities and institutions are in development and will be posted on the website as confirmed.)

To stay posted on all upcoming LEVEL news and updates, please like us on Facebook, or sign up for our mailing list (located in right menu bar).

> via lerata.org