Connected.

Assistant Director, Nick Mataragas has a conversation with Illustrator Amanda Scharf. They discuss her technique, the con community, and developing a story around your art.

http://www.amandascharf.com/

https://linktr.ee/amandascharf

https://www.instagram.com/aya_feesh/

https://twitter.com/amandascharf?lang=en

Assistant Director, Nick has a conversation with artist, Cryomera. They discuss selling art at comic cons, pen and ink drawing, relief printing, and Twitch.

You can check out Cryomera’s work at:

https://cryomera.com/

https://www.artstation.com/cryomera

https://www.twitch.tv/cryomera

https://www.etsy.com/shop/cryomera

Side Street Founder and Executive Director Erin Rehberg talks with artist Rachel Elizabeth Maley, who curated Side Street's upcoming exhibition Self-Ish, an exploration of how and why we construct self-identities. The two discuss the motivations and themes of the show and complexities of self-representation in art and our daily lives. Self-Ish opens in the Gallery at Side Street on Friday, December 3 at 6pm and features work by Kathryn Eli, Bill Ellis!!, Brian Garbrecht, Atoi Glennette, Katherine Grace Maley, R.E. Maley, Han Nicole Martin, Mitzi Melaine, T. Sit, and Jamie Tubbs, and a live performance from Jordan Reinwald.

Side Street Founder & Executive Director Tanner Melvin chats with Side Street Music Coordinator, musician, and promoter, Peter Brankovic. We discuss music philosophy, religion, inspiration, and so much more. Peter brings their new band BOUND to Side Street on Saturday, November 20th with special guests Motion Failure, Ethereal Lotus, & What To Do. #supportlocalmusic

Side Street Founder & Executive Director Erin Rehberg talks with Alisa Duda, Dave Metzger, and Mike Rende of Elgin's Oddball Art Labs, a non-profit artist based organization created to advance the presence of the arts in the Fox Valley and beyond. The group is bringing "A Cabinet of Curious Characters" to the Gallery and Theater at Side Street November 19-28.

SSSA Founder and Executive Director Tanner Melvin chats with thespian, D&D master, and manager of Blue Box Cafe, Nathan Chesterfield. Our discussion ranges from falling in love with theater, life during Covid, celebrating the lives of Chris and Kathleen Mau, and The future of blue box café.

SSSA Founder and Executive Director Erin Rehberg talks with creative Lindsay Johnson, whose work is current featured in the Gallery at Side Street in Deep Waters, Johnson's first-ever solo exhibition. Artist mother and educator, Lindsay Johnson constructed narrative works on panels with acrylic, photographs, or found material to reconstruct moments in time, ideas, and dreams during the Covid-19 pandemic. The blue used throughout many of these works are made from disposable surgical masks, placed as sky, to emphasize the invisible yet inescapable force that both pulled us apart and under, and propelled us forward and together.

Nick has a conversation with Michael Bradt, the owner of the soon to open Bit Theater. They discuss the challenges related to opening a brand new theater, and their history together as improvisers. Michael shares the vision for his theater and training center.

To learn more about the Bit Theater, you can visit https://bitimprov.com/

Four members of Elgin's newly emerging Social Justice Collective, Councilman Corey Dixon, Amanda Harris, Dr. Rise' Jones, and Paige Roeber join SSSA Founder and Executive Director Erin Rehberg to discuss the obstacles and inspirations that are emerging from their Making Space project, which was developed in response to Elgin's Black Lives Matter protests during the summer of 2020. The project consists of four parts: a mural, a documentary, a Juneteenth partnership, and a scholarship. Making Space FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/ElginMakingSpace.

SSSA Assistant Director, Ivette De Santiago, sits down with Florida based artist Kelsey Wilkerson to discuss her art practice and her journey of self re-discovery during the pandemic. Kelsey discusses how she went from working in a busy Manhattan office to taking the office with her through out several cities in Florida, including onto a boat. She has discovered a love for wilderness photography that she manages to do while on a kayak. She is also exploring with watercolor painting, and loves to make digital paintings of Sheera the cat. Kelsey graduated from the University of Florida with a BFA and now works as a Senior Creative Designer at Innovid. She is also taking a class to become an unofficial wilderness explorer, or a wilderness tour guide. instagram @kelseywilkerson.art