Ryan T Dunn’s Post

I am currently involved in an existential fight for my art space and home which is a microcosmic representation of how art and culture is regarded in our country as a whole. If it doesn't make a profit, serve business interests, or work to mask the actual homogenization of culture in the name of art, those with the power are more than willing to bulldoze over you. No matter what credentials, principles or validity you can demonstrate you will lose out if business interests stand to lose and if you choose to do things contrary to the status quo. We live in a world which privileges business models over criticality every time because business as a model only stands to lose. We vocationally provide unknowable unseen uncompensated value for marginalized artists and forms. The city stands to lose Tritriangle and NoNation so the city government can quietly turn this hard to find live-work building into yet more retail without even hearing us out about the misunderstanding they have over the real value we provide. ----- "To No Nation and Tritriangle, it seems unthinkable that the city would allow funds slotted for arts preservation to be used to actually displace artists and their longrunning spaces. 'This is one of the biggest questions: what is actually important to Chicago? Is it just making more retail spaces and more places to buy stuff? Or is it having more discussion and community and awareness of the world we live in?' Dunn asks. 'I can’t change the whole city. I can only do the part that I’m doing, which is providing a space for artists and culture and bringing people who don’t represent a moneyed part of that culture.” #inequityarts #chicago #gentrification #art #diy #soundart #noise #heavengallery #lvl3 #nonation #tritriangle Chicago Department of Planning and Development