Check Out An International Performance Art Festival In West Town This Weekend

By Carrie McGath in Arts & Entertainment on Jun 2, 2017 4:44PM

This weekend marks another installment of Defibrillator Gallery's Rapid Pulse International Performance Art Festival, now in its sixth year. This year's festival, Retrospect, looks back at the first five years of the annual festival by inviting back alumni artists returning to the city to present new work. One of only a handful of festivals of its kind in the country, Rapid Pulse will host an array of performance artists from around the nation and the globe through Sunday, June 4.

Industry of the Ordinary (RP12), a conceptual art duo based in Chicago, is one of the performers to kick off the first full day of Rapid Pulse, along with Ayana Evans and Diaz Lewis, starting at 7:00 p.m.

Each night, performances bookend themed video programs and end with a Stu—a.k.a. a late-night supper. According to Rapid Pulse, the Stu is a way to create an atmosphere that sets "aside traditional forms of discourse" with an aim to "provide an atmosphere where exchange of ideas happens naturally and conversations flow freely - as they tend to do over food and drink." A schedule of stu events are available here.

In addition to events on-site at Defibrillator Gallery, there are two off-site performances. On Saturday at 5:00 p.m. and and again at 9:00 p.m., Michael Thomas / Lucky Pierre will present, "American Slut" at 2001 W. Fulton St. at the southwest corner of Fulton and Damen. Sunday's offsite event by Fereshteh Toosi begins at Defibrillator at 5:00 p.m. and continues two blocks east to Eckhart Park, culminating in a participatory performance.

Events are free, but reservations assist organizers and a link to reservations and a schedule of events can be found through the Rapid Pulse website.

Defibrillator Gallery is located at 1463 W. Chicago Ave.