About Us

ABOUT

Founded in 1986 by Dawn and Lou Mallozzi, Eric Leonardson, and Perry Venson, Experimental Sound Studio (ESS) has occupied its Edgewater location since 2006. The facility is home to a full-service recording, mixing, and mastering studio for hire; Audible Gallery, a small public space for exhibitions, meetings, workshops, performances, and artists' projects; and the Creative Audio Archive—an invaluable collection of recordings, print, and visual ephemera related to avant-garde and exploratory sound and music of the last five decades. ESS presents eclectic performance and installation programming, workshops, and artist talks year round—both in the various spaces around the studio (including its beautiful garden) and at various partner venues around Chicago.

 

Mission

Experimental Sound Studio is a Chicago-based nonprofit organization dedicated to artistic evolution and the creative exploration of sound. As an international hub for sonic experimentation, ESS nurtures artists, heralds new works, and builds a broad, supportive community of makers, enthusiasts, and creative partners through production, presentation, education, and preservation.

 

Core Values

  • The artist is at the center of the creative process

  • The past informs and inspires invention and innovation

  • Experimentation requires both artistic rigor and risk

  • Sonic-based expression has no boundaries and requires an inclusive environment that welcomes and values diverse perspectives and voices

  • Collaboration activates growth

 

Staff

Adam Vida: Managing Director

Alex Inglizian: Technical Director, Chief Engineer

Olivia Junell: Development & Outreach Director

Eddie Guzman: Marketing Associate

Kelsey McFalls: Development Associate

James Wetzel: Creative Audio Archive Manager

Kate In: Studio Manager & Engineer

Ralph Loza: Engineer

Troy Cruz: Engineer

Lou Mallozzi: Founder / Director Emeritus

Co-founder Lou Mallozzi is an artist, arts administrator, and educator. He and was Associate Director of ESS since its inception in 1986 until 1999, when he became Executive Director. His duties included developing programming and organizational partnerships, and overseeing administrative and financial operations. During his time at ESS he facilitated the presentation of work by several hundred artists and ensembles to Chicago audiences by curating, organizing, or co-producing scores of performances, exhibitions, broadcasts, roundtable discussions, and other cultural programs. These included the ESS Florasonic sound installation series, the Outer Ear Festival of Sound (2000-2009), the Sounds From Chicago radio series (1988-1996), the Artist Residency Program, and others. He oversaw ESS’s studio renovations in 2001 and 2006, the initiation of the Creative Audio Archive in 2003, and the establishment of Audible Gallery in 2006. He has been invited to speak on numerous panels concerning sound as art, public art practice, and historic and theoretical topics in contemporary art practice. His own practice as an artist engaged primarily with sound has received considerable attention, including performances and exhibitions in the US, Canada, and Europe, as well as grants and residencies from the Rockefeller Foundation, the Illinois Arts Council, the Chicago-Lucerne Sister Cities Program, the Japan Foundation / Ishibashi Foundation, and others. He is a tenured Associate Professor in the Sound Department of The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he teaches courses on sound art, sound installation, creative production techniques, and interdisciplinary art practice, as well as coordinating the Sound Department MFA Program. Lou retired from his position as ESS Executive Director in July of 2016.

 

Board

Carrie Cooper: President And Chair

Liz Pesnel: Treasurer

Drew Roulo: Secretary

Kim Alpert

Lee Blalock

Mark Diaz

Asha Iman Veal

Lou Mallozzi

Daniel Quiles

Darin Walsh

 
 

5925 N Ravenswood Ave, Chicago, IL 60660. USA

info@ess.org

773-998-1069

Foundation & Corporate Support

ESS programs & services are made possible through the generosity of our members and donors, including significant contributions from anonymous donors. Major support is provided by the DEW Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, Walder Foundation, the Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, the MacArthur Fund for Arts & Culture at the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, the Illinois Arts Council Agency, Ruth Arts Foundation, New Music USA, National Endowment for the Humanities, Puffin Foundation Ltd, mediaTheFoundation, Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events, and The Alice M. Ditson Foundation.