High Concept Labs

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.

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

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