The Phantom Gallery Chicago is proud to announce a collaboration with composer and musician Reggie Nicholson as resident artists for the 2022 program year.
"Mettle" (2018) features his second solo recording for percussion.
The instantly recognizable style and sound of Reggie Nicholson have elevated him to one of the most distinctive, inventive, and inspirational drummer/percussionists of his generation, a formidable technician but one who uses his considerable skills constructively and with infinite taste.
Born in Chicago, his drum concept perfectly fitted the needs of many extraordinary Chicago musicians. An active member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) since 1979, Nicholson has absorbed the musical influences of each AACM member learning the skills to compose and improvise original music.
Nicholson has performed and recorded with a wide variety of jazz and new music luminaries such as Henry Threadgill, Muhal Richard Abrams, Amina Claudine Myers, Leroy Jenkins, Anthony Braxton, Sam Newsome, Myra Melford, Wilber Morris, Elektra Kurtis, Billy Bang, Butch Morris, James Spaulding, Yuko Fujiyama, Oliver Lake, Fay Victor, Roy Campbell, just to name a few. In addition, Reggie has toured throughout Europe and Japan.
As a composer, he was nominated twice for the Cal Arts Composition Award in 1993/1994. His compositions were performed throughout NYC, including concerts for Roulette, Interpretations, Vision Festival, and the AACM.
Nicholson's recordings, which have highlighted his compositions, are "Unnecessary Noise Allowed (1997)," which features his quintet, The Reggie Nicholson Concept. "Percussion Peace" (2005) is a solo recording experimenting with electronics and percussion instruments. In 2007, the premiere of "Timbre Suite" (Tone Colors) was recorded for a percussion ensemble." Surreal Feel" (2008) shows the maturity and growth of his composing skills with music for brass instruments and percussion. "Mettle" (2018) features his second solo recording for percussion. His latest recording, "No Preservatives Added" (2020), features new compositions for the percussion ensemble.
Currently, Nicholson is continuing to explore the aesthetics of his musical ideas.
Reggie Nicholson, Composer/Percussionist
Tactical Urbanism in the Horizontal Landscape
"Soundscape Tapestry."
He will work directly with the lead artist and chief curator, Alpha Bruton. In addition, Phantom Gallery Chicago will provide technical and administrative support for creating new work and exploring new ideas with a two-month sound and video exhibition at the end of the project.
Phantom Gallery Chicago's mission is to promote the betterment of the visual arts community through the arts and to promote cultural activities in exhibits, workshops, and artists-in-residence projects. This collaborative project will utilize sound and visual art in a public installation. Soundscape Tapestry will echo the African American music experience unique to the sounds of Chicago. As a visual artist, Alpha Bruton will experiment with abstractions, vibrational sound narratives, and vibrational sound narrations in response to the experimental sound of composer/percussionists Reggie Nicholson in an eight-week series of concentrated studio time to develop platforms for exploration and creation of new works.
Elastic Arts and AMP- CHI Presents: Intersections, Chicago Jazz Fest Afterfest AACM
Phantom Gallery Chicago realizes artists need to keep creating and inventing at their best and that they need time to reflect and work seriously or just for fun. The journey to becoming a skilled and accomplished artist is lifelong. When you invest in your talent, you can reinvigorate your passion for making art. But, an essential part of the process is building into your schedule a time for renewal, new experiences, and a different perspective. Self-directed artist residency, "artist vacations," is not taken to get away from their work but to find ways to inspire their work with new vitality and energy.
The goal is to give artists a space to imagine new work methods. The AIR is followed by a two-month exhibition created, fully documented, and a full-color exhibition catalog. Collaborating artists are encouraged to share their ideas and complete a visual diary of drawings, collages, videos, or photography. This visual journal will reflect the on-site experience, employing themes, contemporary narratives, and personal or historical regarding the course or discourse of their work.
Elastic Arts and AMP- CHI Presents: Intersections, Chicago Jazz Fest Afterfest AACM
While artist residencies have traditionally provided opportunities for artists to work in solitude, many residency programs today are designed specifically around artists engaging the local community. Increasingly, organizations still primarily offering retreat-style residencies are expanding into community-engaged work and looking for best practices from peers.
This collaboration is curated by the chief curator of the Phantom Gallery Chicago Network and is an ambitious new sector using tactical urbanism and contributing to the horizontal landscape. With the intent of exposing pedestrians and tourists to the experience of what is viewed inside the gallery—creating a dynamic platform for large-scale installations, moving image works, and sound performances, which has had a dedicated space at the Bronzeville Artist Lofts since 2014 years.
Past presenting film and media artists: "The Kaleidoscope Effect" by Tali Farchi and Royce Deans (2011), "Vacation Spot" curated by Janelle Vaughn Dowell (2014); Collective Voices "CV Film Festival" curated by Ife Olatunji; (2015-2016). "Wabi House Media" Presents "Pop-Up Movie Theater," "Tactical Urbanism," "Experimental Screenings," and RACE Films" curated by Renee Baker (2017- 2021). "Ceremonial Teas," the Social Move initiative, was curated by Larissa J. Akeremi (2020).
All the projections are accompanied by original soundscapes juxtaposed with the urban sounds of Bronzeville @ 47th Street and various intersections of the community.
- September 16th, 2022, 8pm - 10pm
