THE ART OF "CHANGE"

—photo by Angelica Robles

—article by Nina Clevinger @ninaclevinger

Change is defined by the dictionary as the making or becoming of one thing to a different thing. Every single person on this planet experiences change every day of their lives. Whether it be a change in where they live, what they eat, how they dress, or who they surround themselves with; change is prevalent in every life. 

This year, Chicago’s Art Depth—a project focusing on promoting and supporting the different aspects and collaborative capabilities of artists and their works—is hosting their annual event on October 21, based on that one simple word: change. 

Cheryl Postrozny, a creative intellect from Chicago, founded Art Depth in 2010. Its main focus is to harbor serendipity amongst artists and their works, according to Postrozny. 

“People are very confused when they first hear of Art Depth because it is so different,” said Postrozny. “It’s not just an art show. It’s really like, an evolutionary kind of event.” 

Every year, Art Depth hosts a live, interactive art show in which guests and featured artists alike are encouraged to participate in the creation of something new. 

The theme changes as well as the location and featured artists, so no two events are ever alike. 

“The idea is for it to be multi-sensory,” said Postrozny. “There’s a DJ, live music, guest speakers, an art show, and different stations set up for people to create art—if so inclined, [guests] can just pick up a paintbrush or some colored pencils and create.” 

Postrozny’s idea for visitors to become a participant in the event is one that stems from her experience of living in New York a few years back. She recalls walking down the street and suddenly being fully immersed in a full-on art party, without even realizing it at first. 

“When I came back to Chicago after living in New York, it felt really slow, like there was some energy missing,” said Postrozny. “I wanted to try and recreate the feeling of those art parties, the inspiring energy…Chicago is not New York, though, and I didn’t know if I could do it.” 

But do it she did. Art Depth captures the energizing essence of the city that never sleeps and brings it to life in the Midwest. 

“[With Art Depth], nothing repeats itself; it’s exciting,” said Postrozny. “You just wait for the day of to see what happens.”

This year, the “Change" event will feature visual works from five artists: Gaby Abboud, Damien James, Sally Jungblut, Andrew Rehs and Anna Soltys. Along with their visuals, artist, numerologist and soul-reader Philip Clark will be there to give personal numerology readings and speak on both why change is so hard for humans to accept, as well as what we are to expect for the remainder of 2016 and the year following. 

There will be a model posed for the entirety of the event, so any serious artists can show up at the beginning and take advantage of the five-hour time period to capture the model in any way they imagine, according to Postrozny. Another group of models will be posing in hour-long intervals, each of them representing a different stage of life - starting at childhood and ending in late adulthood. The idea of this is to represent the same person, and capture the essence of change through aging. 

A few weeks following the event, on November 18, there will be a pop-up show featuring the works that were created live at the event. Anyone can submit, whether you see yourself as an artist or not. 

“Art Depth gives the opportunity to bring together artists and art lovers for a chance to connect and create something larger than they could if they were, you know, on their own,” said Postrozny. “It’s kind of like a portal."

The “Change” event is free and open to all ages. It begins at 6 p.m. on Friday, October 21, on the lower level of the Zhou B Art Center in Chicago. RSVP here and learn more about Art Depth here.