This video documents a singular performance, which featured original images by Mazurek projected onto the Adler Planetarium’s domed ceiling and the Exploding Star Orchestra’s hypnotic interpretations of music from their album Lightning Dreamers (International Anthem, released 2024).

In his final concert as the ESS Curatorial Fellow, James Gui teams up with the venue ACS to showcase experimental artists in Seoul, from avant-garde sound artists to forward-thinking synth wranglers.

In collaboration with ESS, CFA is proud to highlight a few of our past Media Mixer pieces. We hope this (re)introduction activates a fulsome conversation around archives and the importance of preservation, while also bringing to light these beautiful and challenging works, which audiences may have missed the first time around. We hope you will join us!

TQC presents the premiere of The Physicality of Thinking, a 30 minute “road movie” by Sandra Binion, edited by Julian Aaron Flavin. This online premiere also includes live performances by members of the improvising quartet Antichamber Music streaming from France and the U.S.

Join us for a final presentation by Alba/SAIC artist in residence Katie Wood featuring a screening of her film running water with performances by Carol Genetti and Gwyneth Zeleny Anderson in the garden at sundown.

The Second Sexing Sound Symposium (SSSS!) is a series of public events in Chicago dedicated to ideas, research, performance, and conversation surrounding female and trans-identifying practitioners in and around the sonic arts.

Back for its third year, KINOSONIK is a collaboration between the Goethe-Institut, Experimental Sound Studio, and the Chicago Film Archives. This year, musicians Frauke Aulbert and Seth Parker Woods will collaborate to compose live scores for a selection of films curated and sequenced by CFA from their extensive collection. Aulbert and Woods were selected based on their substantive and exemplary artistic accomplishments to date, their commitment to risk-taking exploratory approaches to sound and music, their long-standing experience in collaboration, and their interest in integrating their various sonic approaches with moving image.

Join us on Saturday, December 17 for a presentation of the work this year's artists completed during their residencies. The 2016 Artist Residency Program is made possible thanks once again to a generous grant from the National Endowment for the Arts Art Works Program.

This year's resident artists will present their work in an event at the studio on December 5th. Admission is free and refreshments will be served.

Back for a second year, KINOSONIK is a collaboration with the Rebuild Foundation's Black Cinema House, The Nightingale, and Chicago Film Archives. This year, in mini-residencies at ESS, three pairings of musicians will collaborate to compose live scores for anthologies of film curated and sequenced by CFA from their extensive vaults. The artist pairings—Mwata Bowden/Coppice, Damon Locks/Peter Maunu, and Walter Kitundu/Katherine Young—will perform their work at The Nightingale and at Black Cinema House throughout the late summer and fall of 2015. Once again, the artists were selected based on their substantive and exemplary artistic accomplishments to date, their commitment to risk-taking exploratory approaches to sound and music, their long-standing experience in collaboration, and their interest in integrating their various sonic approaches with moving image.

Back for a second year, KINOSONIK is a collaboration with the Rebuild Foundation's Black Cinema House, The Nightingale, and Chicago Film Archives. This year, in mini-residencies at ESS, three pairings of musicians will collaborate to compose live scores for anthologies of film curated and sequenced by CFA from their extensive vaults. The artist pairings—Mwata Bowden/Coppice, Damon Locks/Peter Maunu, and Walter Kitundu/Katherine Young—will perform their work at The Nightingale and at Black Cinema House throughout the late summer and fall of 2015. Once again, the artists were selected based on their substantive and exemplary artistic accomplishments to date, their commitment to risk-taking exploratory approaches to sound and music, their long-standing experience in collaboration, and their interest in integrating their various sonic approaches with moving image.

Back for a second year, KINOSONIK is a collaboration with the Rebuild Foundation's Black Cinema House, The Nightingale, and Chicago Film Archives. This year, in mini-residencies at ESS, three pairings of musicians will collaborate to compose live scores for anthologies of film curated and sequenced by CFA from their extensive vaults. The artist pairings—Mwata Bowden/Coppice, Damon Locks/Peter Maunu, and Walter Kitundu/Katherine Young—will perform their work at The Nightingale and at Black Cinema House throughout the late summer and fall of 2015. Once again, the artists were selected based on their substantive and exemplary artistic accomplishments to date, their commitment to risk-taking exploratory approaches to sound and music, their long-standing experience in collaboration, and their interest in integrating their various sonic approaches with moving image.

Back for a second year, KINOSONIK is a collaboration with the Rebuild Foundation's Black Cinema House, The Nightingale, and Chicago Film Archives. This year, in mini-residencies at ESS, three pairings of musicians will collaborate to compose live scores for anthologies of film curated and sequenced by CFA from their extensive vaults. The artist pairings—Mwata Bowden/Coppice, Damon Locks/Peter Maunu, and Walter Kitundu/Katherine Young—will perform their work at The Nightingale and at Black Cinema House throughout the late summer and fall of 2015. Once again, the artists were selected based on their substantive and exemplary artistic accomplishments to date, their commitment to risk-taking exploratory approaches to sound and music, their long-standing experience in collaboration, and their interest in integrating their various sonic approaches with moving image.

Back for a second year, KINOSONIK is a collaboration with the Rebuild Foundation's Black Cinema House, The Nightingale, and Chicago Film Archives. This year, in mini-residencies at ESS, three pairings of musicians will collaborate to compose live scores for anthologies of film curated and sequenced by CFA from their extensive vaults. The artist pairings—Mwata Bowden/Coppice, Damon Locks/Peter Maunu, and Walter Kitundu/Katherine Young—will perform their work at The Nightingale and at Black Cinema House throughout the late summer and fall of 2015. Once again, the artists were selected based on their substantive and exemplary artistic accomplishments to date, their commitment to risk-taking exploratory approaches to sound and music, their long-standing experience in collaboration, and their interest in integrating their various sonic approaches with moving image.

Back for a second year, KINOSONIK is a collaboration with the Rebuild Foundation's Black Cinema House, The Nightingale, and Chicago Film Archives. This year, in mini-residencies at ESS, three pairings of musicians will collaborate to compose live scores for anthologies of film curated and sequenced by CFA from their extensive vaults. The artist pairings—Mwata Bowden/Coppice, Damon Locks/Peter Maunu, and Walter Kitundu/Katherine Young—will perform their work at The Nightingale and at Black Cinema House throughout the late summer and fall of 2015. Once again, the artists were selected based on their substantive and exemplary artistic accomplishments to date, their commitment to risk-taking exploratory approaches to sound and music, their long-standing experience in collaboration, and their interest in integrating their various sonic approaches with moving image.

In collaboration with the Rebuild Foundation's Black Cinema House and Chicago Film Archives, ESS is proud to present a pilot project of live music/sound performances with cinema.In two mini-residencies, two pairs of collaborating sound/music artists will each spend 4 to 6 weeks studying and working with several short films selected from CFA’s extensive vault.

In collaboration with the Rebuild Foundation's Black Cinema House and Chicago Film Archives, ESS is proud to present a pilot project of live music/sound performances with cinema.In two mini-residencies, two pairs of collaborating sound/music artists will each spend 4 to 6 weeks studying and working with several short films selected from CFA’s extensive vault.

In collaboration with the Rebuild Foundation's Black Cinema House and Chicago Film Archives, ESS is proud to present a pilot project of live music/sound performances with cinema.In two mini-residencies, two pairs of collaborating sound/music artists will each spend 4 to 6 weeks studying and working with several short films selected from CFA’s extensive vault.

In collaboration with the Rebuild Foundation's Black Cinema House and Chicago Film Archives, ESS is proud to present a pilot project of live music/sound performances with cinema.In two mini-residencies, two pairs of collaborating sound/music artists will each spend 4 to 6 weeks studying and working with several short films selected from CFA’s extensive vault.

Every film needs a soundtrack of some sort, we are partnering with Black Cinema House to present a series featuring lives scores of rarely seen silent films. Various musicians curated by ESS will lend their musical talents throughout the series.

Every film needs a soundtrack of some sort, we are partnering with Black Cinema House to present a series featuring lives scores of rarely seen silent films. Various musicians curated by ESS will lend their musical talents throughout the series.

Every film needs a soundtrack of some sort, we are partnering with Black Cinema House to present a series featuring lives scores of rarely seen silent films. Various musicians curated by ESS will lend their musical talents throughout the series.

As part of our Sun Ra/El Saturn Commissions series, ESS asked Damon Locks (The Eternals) to create a new artwork responding to ESS’s extensive archive of Sun Ra recordings. In lieu of a solo work, he teamed up with writer/performer Terri Kapsalis, The Eternals’ Wayne Montana, and animator Rob Shaw to collaborate on an 18-minute video. Throughout the process, Locks has been working on a new series of related prints that will be on display in ESS’ Audible Gallery through April 4. At the opening of the exhibition of these prints on Saturday February 4th, the video—Noon Moons—will screen at 7:30 and 8:30pm.