Light floods the room: a writing-based gallery walk

Join artists and writers Susy Bielak and Fred Schmalz for a gallery walkthrough of We are all guests here.

Bielak and Schmalz will share poems and prose—both original writing and works from some of their favorite writers—related to the works in the exhibition. As participants move through the gallery, the two will also share simple writing prompts, inviting participants to reflect on their own experiences and perspectives of the works in We are all guests here.

This program is for attendees of all ages and writing experience. Please bring something to write with.

Susy Bielak is an artist, writer, curator and educator. In her artistic practice, she mines personal and political histories, texts, and archives to create work that responds to issues ranging from migration and displacement, to the relationship between daily life and natural disaster. She is a 2020–21 BOLT artist in residence at Chicago Artists Coalition. Her work has been collected and exhibited widely, including by the International Print Center, Museo Tamayo, San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art, and Walker Art Center. Her visual art and writing have been published in Art Papers, Poetry, and New American Paintings. She received her MFA from the University of California San Diego. She and Fred Schmalz comprise the artist collective Balas & Wax.

Fred Schmalz is an artist and poet whose debut poetry collection, Action in the Orchards (Nightboat Books), responds to encounters with dance, music, and visual art. He was poet-in-residence for the LA Philharmonic’s 2018 FluxConcert in its season-long fluxus festival. His recent writing has appeared in The Canary, Poetry, Conduit, and Oversound. He is currently an artist-in-residence at Grand Central Art Center in his ongoing art collaboration with Susy Bielak. He lives in Chicago, where he co-curates the Poetry & Biscuits reading series.