The Rectory

The Rectory is developing into a home for artist collaboration and studio work in the Austin neighborhood.

The Rectory 2017

“How do we engage with ideas and institutions that are set up to provide a dynamic and supportive community, but often end up causing pain?”

On May 28th, Leah Gipson, along with the Austin Neighborhood Studio Co-op & Chicago Home Theater Festival presented an evening of food, participatory theater, photography, and music. The event took place at ‘The Rectory,’ a collaborative artist studio partnership between St. Martin’s Episcopal Church and local community artists. The evening featured performances by We Say Yepp, (The Youth Empowerment Performance Project,) ICAH, (Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health,) photography installations by Nicole Harrison and Cassandra Davis, and musical performances by Avery R Young and members of St Martin’s congregation, Oscar Douglas-Brown and Larry and Rahsaan Nance.

host, Leah Gipson & artistic producer Allie Stephens

http://www.chicagohtf.org/austin-2017

The Rectory 2016

The Rectory receives the Propeller Fund for a new program, the Austin Neighborhood Studio Co-op.

Leah Gipson
Nicole Harrison
Rae Chardonnay
Adrian Dunn
Hannibal Buress

The Austin Neighborhood Studio Co-op is a supportive initiative for the development of “The Rectory,” a new collaborative artist studio partnership between St. Martin’s Episcopal Church and local community artists. The collaborative conceptualized the Austin Neighborhood Studio Co-op to explore the cultural context of the space, an empty rectory, and community. The project aims to generate opportunities for artist production and programming in the area.

The Rectory 2015

The Rectory was a project that explored a contemporary conversation between the church and the studio on Chicago's west side. The Rectory was a collaborative artist studio space envisioned by Leah Gipson and operated by St. Martin's Episcopal Church in the Austin community. St. Martin's is a church known for its commitment to inclusive community and social transformation as well as its relationship to music, performance, film, and art education.

Tales from the New American Hood was an event designed to experiment with ideas of narrative, portal, and place at The Rectory. The project inaugurated the studio space with tales of creative resistance. The event featured local Austin residents, Oscar and Cheryl, who shared stories about facing injustice on the basis of identity. Community participants created fantast narratives, "restor[y]ative narratives" in response to experiences shared by storytellers. Event partner Chicago Artists Month 2015.