Chicago, IL

In 2022, MdW returned to Chicago for a multi-floor, artist-led assembly that transformed MANA Contemporary and nearby spaces into a platform for exchange, experimentation, and collaboration. The 2nd floor hosted a dynamic hub of activity, including a flexible “stage” for panels, performances, and multimedia presentations; a looping Screening Room featuring artist video works; and state-organized pavilions representing IA, MN, WI, MI, IN, and MO. Offsite at Co-Prosperity, artists took to the airwaves with live broadcasts on Lumpen Radio WLPN 105.5 FM, producing topical conversations and interviews that were later shared online. Across the weekend, programming unfolded through an open sign-up structure that balanced careful scheduling with autonomy, allowing participants to activate space in ways that best served their ideas.

Throughout the building, MdW 2022 emphasized access to tools, dialogue, and collective production. The 4th floor featured the Printing Zone—an open coffee/print/conversation area anchored by a risograph printer—used as a kind of “live analog Twitter” to rapidly circulate announcements, reflections, and meet-ups hand-to-hand during the fair. Nearby, the Agora (a square of chairs) offered a low-tech, self-organized forum for 20-minute conversations and gatherings, reinforcing the fair’s commitment to artist-led exchange without hierarchy or spectacle. A Family/Youth Studio on the 5th floor welcomed young people and caregivers into a shared art-making and play space, while the café, community meal, and visiting food vendors fostered hospitality and informal connection.

Beyond formal programming, MdW 2022 encouraged participants to self-document their projects, share resources, and engage the broader Chicago arts ecosystem—from neighborhood galleries and artist-run spaces to local restaurants and community hubs. The weekend concluded with performances, conversations, screenings, and an afterparty, but the assembly extended beyond its dates through documentation efforts, shared archives, and post-event surveys and town halls designed to shape future iterations. MdW 2022 stood as a collectively built platform for coalition, experimentation, and sustained artist-led action across the Midwest.