Featured image: Fuzz, 2023 Installation: Works by 54 fiber and textile artists. Documentation by Amy Shelton. Curated by Lauren Iacoponi and Naomi Elson.
Linda Marcus
Don’t be surprised if when you visit Purple Window Gallery inside Mana Contemporary in Chicago, Illinois, you won’t find the color purple and there’s no window. The name functions now more as a metaphor for what the artist-run collective does. Purple Window provides, a window or possibility for artists to be seen, any artist trained or self-taught. The Purple Window Gallery is the innovation created by Lauren Iacopini, director of exhibitions at Columbia College, artist, curator, educator, and community organizer. She came up with the idea in 2019 after seeing similar organizations pop up in Chicago. She aimed to open Purple Window in 2020, with a site picked out and a Kickstarter campaign. But then COVID hit, the former T-Mobile store in Avondale which was purple and had a window suddenly wasn’t an option for the collective as everything began to close. “I think we were all sad because we wanted to show work and we wanted to all see work and we couldn’t”, said Iacopini. But the artist-run collective learned to pivot. As a way of combating isolation during the lockdown, the collective began the idea of “Hello Neighbor.” Artists, not just gallery members, would use purple painter’s tape and create a rectilinear shape in their window and display a work of art. That way, through a purple-looking window, the artwork was visible to those outside while still adhering to the lockdown protocols. It took off and spread throughout the state and even outside the US. She says the Hello Neighbor initiative showed her how the studio practice of an artist is all part of a much larger community.
Once restrictions began to loosen and in-person exhibitions were safe to return to, in 2022, Purple Window managed to get a space inside Mana Contemporary in Chicago and remains there today. The space, as mentioned earlier has no window and isn’t purple but the metaphors the name suggests are still evident in the programming of the space. Purple Window has maintained its openness and willingness to include members which may have formerly been overlooked. Iacopini says, “We’re looking for artists who don’t necessarily already have a degree. They didn’t study it; they are in a sense outsider artist and are pursuing it out of a passion”. Spaces like Purple Window provide opportunities to those whose goals may be different than a traditionally trained artist. “These sorts of traditional spaces don’t always afford opportunities to those types of people who are talented and who are thinking in a kind of unique off brand way, because they are sort of doing some self-discovery”, says Iacopini. Rebecca Griffith is the gallery’s manager and project coordinator. Griffith and Iacopini met in grad school at Northern Illinois University and have been friends and supporters of each other’s work ever since. In grad school, according to Griffith, a cohort was formed, and friendships develop which lasted long after school. For a non-traditional artist who didn’t necessarily go to school, the ability to be part of an art community and cohort is difficult to find. Griffith says Purple Window fills a need. “For the artist this fills that longing and that sense of belonging”.
Purple Window is an artist-led, community-supported project space and gallery with ten members. It is jointly owned and democratically controlled by its members. Monthly dues range from 30-40 dollars a month. With an ambitious exhibition schedule of nearly once a month, each member can show work and create and curate unique shows and supplemental programming. “Each member brings a different skill set, so the storytelling is different with each show,” according to Griffith. Both Iacopini and Griffith say the shows are often deeply personal which in turn creates successful exhibitions. For all the artists, Purple Window feels more like a residency than a collective. “It’s more creatively freeing to work together towards a project, that’s where to me it feels a bit more like a residency. You can check in with one another and share ideas. We often have virtual studio visits and talk about what we can do that we haven’t done yet”, according to Griffith. Moreover, both Iacopini and Griffith say beyond the exhibitions, Purple Window has also become an important component of their lives. “For me, I enjoy working with our members, the open calls and it’s become a key part of my social life”, says Iacopini.
Purple Window is part of over three dozen artist runs spaces in the Chicago area. Iacopini says her advice to artists looking for something similar, “Start your own or become familiar with your local art scene. Just be willing to play an active role if you are looking to join, it’s more than just an opportunity to showcase your art and pay monthly dues. It’s a responsibility as well.”
Visit www.purplewindowgallery.com to learn more and connect on Instagram at @purplewindowgallery