About

SITE/less is a guerilla storefront located at 1250 W. Augusta Blvd., an edge site with ancillary relationships to a variety of urban crossroads and infrastructures. The building abuts the stonewall of the elevated Metra line and is further enclosed by the Kennedy Expressway, a service road, a crosswalk, an overpass, and two municipal maintenance and storage facilities. SITE/less anchors the edge of a small triangular residential enclave and is situated between the West Town and Noble Square communities. Overseen by Zephyr artistic director Michelle Kranicke and architect David Sundry the space is positioned as an experimental architecture, movement, and research center. SITE/less seeks to rethink the relationship between the typical model of most performance venues and how the organization of those venues inevitably limits and conditions the curatorial practice. SITE/less aims to facilitate connection with the public and promote social interaction by creating a non-typical arena to host non-art events such as community meetings and pop-up dinners. In addition, the center will work to establish an open gathering zone not unlike a reading room, internet hotspot location, long-term art installation, or other types of public space located within a private building. SITE/less will situate itself in the landscape of other venerable institutions in Chicago, provide another venue for experimental time-based work, and create opportunities for the center to engage with a broader community of artists and architects.