High Concept Labs

High Concept Labs HCL is a laboratory for experimental, conceptual, and genre-defying artistic
projects.

High Concept Labs (HCL) strengthens the creative sector by providing accessible residency programs for artists across disciplines interested in experimentation, discovery, exchange, and risk. Through these residencies, HCL meets artists where they are while promoting visibility for the creative process and advocating for critical investment across every stage in the development of new work.

Thank you to everyone who joined the Chicago Performance Community Convening last weekend (and if you didn’t make it, w...
04/29/2026

Thank you to everyone who joined the Chicago Performance Community Convening last weekend (and if you didn’t make it, we missed you and are grateful for your interest).

It was wonderful to spend time in community and be part of an exchange of ideas. Thank you for your contributions in all their forms - inspiration, inquiry, instigation, and beyond.

We are now working on organizing takeaways from the gathering to share out–anticipated by the end of May.

Also, a huge thank you to facilitators Alysha Monique, Nora Sharp, and Sam Thousand for creating such a thoughtful container for these conversations and leading with care. Thank you to Maggie Bridger for supporting the virtual space. Thank you also to + for hosting, for yummy drinks, and for support.

Photos by Ry Thiel.

Meet William Estrada!This weekend, William is joining Cuerpos Justificados, Unfolding Disability Futures, High Concept L...
04/22/2026

Meet William Estrada!

This weekend, William is joining Cuerpos Justificados, Unfolding Disability Futures, High Concept Labs, and Access Living in presenting:

Art/Access Lab: Know Your Rights
Sunday, April 26
2:00-4:00pm
📍in person at
👨🏿‍💻or RSVP for the zoom link
Details at https://buff.ly/dyNC5lb

William Estrada’s approach to art and teaching is centered on collaborative discourse. His roles as a teacher, artist, and cultural worker are intertwined. He draws on academic literature, educational settings, and personal interactions to report, record, reveal, and amplify lived experiences, aiming to foster radical imagination.

Estrada's current research focuses on developing community-based, culturally relevant projects that critically examine power structures related to race, the economy, and cultural access in contested spaces. He aspires to envision and work toward a more equitable collective future through intentional, sustained collaborations with individuals in their communities.

William Estrada is the printmaker behind the Mobile Street Art Cart. Inspired by ice cream and food vendor carts in Little Village. The Mobile Street Art Cart creates temporary space for talking about art and its impact on our communities, and shares resources to support artmaking and community-building.

Following our disability, immigration, and free speech Know Your Rights workshop (presented by Chris Ramos of Access Living), join William Estrada in creating and embellishing screenprinted protest posters!





Meet Cuerpos Justificados!Cuerpos Justifcatdos, Unfolding Disability Futures, High Concept Labs, and Access Living are a...
04/20/2026

Meet Cuerpos Justificados!

Cuerpos Justifcatdos, Unfolding Disability Futures, High Concept Labs, and Access Living are all partnering to present the next Art/Access Lab.

Cuerpos Justificados, which translates to "Justified Bodies", is a disability-lead grassroots artist collective featuring intentional, innovative, and boundary-defying disability works that make political statements.

Cuerpos Justificados (CJ)integrates community participation and collaboration. Mixed ability organizing, love, vulnerability, and nonhierarchical decision-making from a crip-POC-feminist lens lays the groundwork for their collective. They value ✨CRIPISTEMOLOGY ✨, an approach that centers disabled ways of knowing and being in the world.

Join CJ co-founder, Genevieve Ramos, in creating mini-zines for community distribution and contributing to a collaborative artwork.

Art/Access Lab: Know Your Rights
Sunday, April 26
2:00-4:00pm
📍in person at
👩🏻‍💻or RSVP for the zoom link
w/ and
Details: https://buff.ly/dyNC5lb




LAST CALL:JOIN US FOR THE CHICAGO PERFORMANCE COMMUNITY CONVENING🗓️Saturday, April 1811:00am to 3:00pm📍In person at + ...
04/17/2026

LAST CALL:
JOIN US FOR THE CHICAGO PERFORMANCE COMMUNITY CONVENING

🗓️Saturday, April 18
11:00am to 3:00pm

📍In person at + (3111 N Western Ave)
📣OR VIRTUALLY! (RSVP for zoom link)

Artists, performance makers, and change makers are invited to participate in this discussion to see how we can develop better, stronger, and more sustainable opportunities for performing artists together.

Facilitation by the incredible team of , , and , with zoom facilitation by .

Details & RSVP at https://buff.ly/cmvIpUU

This convening is organized and presented by and
—two organizations committed to supporting experimental performance and artistic practice, with support from .

We are gearing up for Saturday’s Convening (don’t forget to RSVP!), and are looking for volunteers to help the day runni...
04/16/2026

We are gearing up for Saturday’s Convening (don’t forget to RSVP!), and are looking for volunteers to help the day running smoothly.

We can use a few extra hands for set-up, during the event, and post-event wrap up. So if you’d like to lend a hand for a portion of the day, please reach out to Joanna Furnans at [email protected].

Hope to see you there!

Please join us for a casual drink this Sunday, April 19th at 8pm at Jimmy's Woodlawn Tap to meet and greet with the HCL ...
04/15/2026

Please join us for a casual drink this Sunday, April 19th at 8pm at Jimmy's Woodlawn Tap to meet and greet with the HCL Board of Directors!

RSVP: https://buff.ly/C82zKzn
📍 1172 E 55th St, Chicago, IL 60615

We are in the process of expanding our board. We seek strategic thinkers, arts advocates, and representatives from a variety of professional fields and backgrounds to support our mission and help shape our future.

Want to see the work of HCL in action? Kick off the evening at Definition Theatre at 7pm where Carissa Lee is premiering 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘭, a new sonic and performance based work developed while in residency with High Concept Labs.

Who Is This For— And Who is Missing?Equity and access are two prevailing concerns of the 93 artists who completed the 20...
04/15/2026

Who Is This For— And Who is Missing?

Equity and access are two prevailing concerns of the 93 artists who completed the 2025 Chicago performance community survey. Respondents commented again and again on funding inequities, favoritism, scarcity, and outdated systems.

What will shift who is able to participate in Chicago’s multifaceted performance communities? What resources can we share and what actions do we need to advocate for?

Join us on Saturday, April 18th at + (or zoom in to the conversation) as we grapple with challenging and uncomfortable truths, and seek better ways forward.

For all the details and to RSVP: https://buff.ly/jQpai7B

In the Chicago performance community survey (Fall 2025), and asked what factors are causing concern about the current ...
04/14/2026

In the Chicago performance community survey (Fall 2025), and asked what factors are causing concern about the current moment and/or future of Chicago’s performance ecosystem. A strong through line was uncertainty about the physical spaces for making, presenting, and advocating for experimental performance.

Where Can This Work Actually Live?

Join us on Saturday, April 18th at + (or zoom in to the conversation) as we ask the question: Where can this work live now, and what could we build together?

For all the details and to RSVP: https://buff.ly/OSYPWjl

Since the turning point of 2020, Chicago’s performance community has seen major losses as well as sea changes in the fun...
04/13/2026

Since the turning point of 2020, Chicago’s performance community has seen major losses as well as sea changes in the funding landscape and other access to resources for making work and being part of shared performance spaces. At the same time, artists themselves are continuing to innovate and find ways to make their work and connect with each other in spite of these losses. As we hit the second half of this decade, it’s time to check in: What’s out there that we can support, celebrate, and riff off of? What could we fight for and win from institutions and public services? What do we have to offer each other amidst and alongside the rollercoasters of things we cannot control?

As we gear up for the Chicago Performance Community Convening, we are sharing some of the questions that will guide our conversations–and some of the survey responses that highlight why these conversations are so necessary.

JOIN US:

🗓️Saturday, April 18
11:00am to 3:00pm
📍At +
(or virtually)

Please RSVP here: https://buff.ly/OSYPWjl

The 2026 Art/Access Lab series kicks off on Sunday, April 26th with an important and timely workshop: Artists with disab...
04/10/2026

The 2026 Art/Access Lab series kicks off on Sunday, April 26th with an important and timely workshop: Artists with disabilities and allies are invited to learn about our rights and use art to help defend these rights for ourselves and others.

To help us hold space for such an important topic, we are partnering with Access Living!

What is Access Living?

Access Living is a disability service and advocacy organization that challenges disability stereotypes, protects civil rights, and champions social reforms to create an accessible and inclusive society for disabled people to live self-directed lives. The majority of their staff and board are people with disabilities.

Chris Ramos, the Latinx and Immigration Community Development Organizer at Access Living, leads Cambiando Vidas (CV), a group of Latinx immigrants with disabilities in organizing and advocating for systemic change. Growing up in Chicago as the son of Salvadoran and Guatemalan immigrants, they witnessed the intersecting challenges of war trauma, undocumented status, displacement, and disability. These experiences fuel their commitment to advocacy, coalition-building, and grassroots action, working toward a future where immigrants with disabilities are empowered to lead lasting change.

Please join us in person or virtually! Details and RSVP at: https://highconceptlabs.org/events/art-access-lab-april-2026

Address

2233 S Throop Street
Chicago, IL
60608

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 11pm
Tuesday 10am - 10pm
Wednesday 10am - 10pm
Thursday 10am - 11pm
Friday 10am - 10pm
Saturday 10am - 10pm
Sunday 10am - 10pm

Telephone

(312)3741114

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when High Concept Labs posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category