ACRE

ACRE is an artist-run non-profit based in Chicago designed to support emerging artists develop, discuss, and present their artistic practices. ACRE’s programs support a growing community of artists with materials, equipment, expertise, conscientiously produced food, and opportunities to exhibit and share work. ACRE aims to be a leader at advancing new means of support for emerging artists at critical junctures in their careers, shifting focus from traditional institutional success, and instead prioritizing the unique, individually-defined paths of artists. ACRE’s Residency Program takes place every summer in the Driftless region of Southwest Wisconsin. Set on 1,000 acres of wetland, hills, and farmland, the residency hosts artists who live and work in a communal setting that includes expansive work spaces, mess hall kitchen, performance stage, wood shop, art and tech facility, and sound, fiber, screenprinting, and ceramics studios. Residents are encouraged to balance their time between producing work, contemplating their practice, and engaging with the community. The Visiting Artist program invites established artists to the residency to conduct studio visits and present lectures, discussions, or workshops. ACRE residents are selected through a competitive application process by respected panelists working in the visual arts from Chicago and across the country. ACRE artists continue to be diverse practitioners working across photography, performance, painting, social practice, sound, sculpture, film, and literature. Each year ACRE welcomes approximately 75 emerging, often underrepresented, artists of all disciplines to attend one of three 14-day residency sessions. Over subsequent years, ACRE endeavors to provide further opportunities for exposure, community building, and professional development to its alumni. ACRE works with a board of Curatorial Fellows to produce exhibitions at our Chicago gallery, ACRE Projects, and partners with independent galleries and curatorial projects in Chicago and across the region to provide connections, resources, and public programming or exhibition opportunities to our alumni following the residency program. Curatorial Fellows are emerging arts organizers, independent curators, and writers who visit the residency each summer and work with artists over the course of two years to organize exhibitions, provide feedback, and build relationships.