The Arts are alive in Little Village! The weekend long Fest will Kick off at Ageless Arts Tattoo with a show curated by Jay Jasso.

Opening Night Event:
Friday, October 3rd - 2014
7pm-11pm
Ageless Arts Tattoo
2407 South Kedzie Ave.


Chicago, IL, September 22, 2014 – VILLARTE is hosting the 9th Annual Little Village Arts Fest on Friday Oct 3rd 7pm – 11pm with an opening night at Ageless Arts Tattoo (2407 S. Kedzie Ave.); and open galleries and performances spaces on Saturday Oct. 4nd and Sunday Oct. 5rd, 12pm-6pm.

The Little Village Arts Fest (LVAF) is a creative and festive celebration of inter-generational art and cross-cultural imagination. Since 2006, local artists have collaborated with business owners, community members and student volunteers to organize this event.

The weekend-long LVAF is completely free and open to the public. “The fest is an outlet for artists who don’t usually have a chance to showcase in the neighborhood. It’s a great way to increase awareness about the amount of ‘home-grown’ talent, and for the community to enjoy and experience the world of artistic creation right in their backyards at no cost”, said Matthew Silva, a Little Village artist who has been featured as the festival's artist for this year's Chicago Artist Month. This is the eight year Chicago Artists Month recognizes the Little Village Arts Festival and the second year it has been chosen as a feature event.

LVAF turns existing businesses such as Ageless Arts, empty store-front spaces, and other locals into unique gallery and performance spaces for the weekend of community celebration. Other spots this year include an space above Moreno's Liquor Store, the Little Village Public Library, and the Open Center for the Arts. LVAF is collaborating with the 11th Annual Grassroots Media Festival, once again featuring independent films in Spanish and English, live music and more on the corner of 25th and Millard on Saturday. Also, on Sunday, the same space will host the Little México Film Festival, a celebration of cinema, this year presenting student short films and focusing on the issue of gentrification.

“What makes the fest truly wonderful is the community effort involved in making this event a success. Without the generosity of the artists and their work, the volunteers and their time, local business owners and their spaces, the Little Village Chamber of Commerce, and the financial contribution of the SSA#25, this event would not be possible.”, said Anthony Marcos Rea, a local artist and Little Village Arts Fest Organizer.

VILLARTE is an all-volunteer group that organizes the Little Village Arts Fest and other art opportunities in Little Village. For more information www.facebook.com/villarte.

THANK YOU! to everyone that participated in the salsa fund project. Thanks to you we raised over $1000.00 for community projects. We will be having another salsa fund in the summer of 2015, please keep an ear out for that!


In the meantime, head over to the community projects button and check out what the salsa fund project funded in the community.

Hasta la próxima!!


Here is the info, just in case you are curious what this whole thing is about....

THE DETAILS

2 Summer Memberships
$500.00 fund for a variety of street workshops
25 members
$20.00 per member
4 16 oz. salsas of various flavors (1 every two weeks)
4 month project (May - August)
2 months for each membership with the option of continuing for the summer


THE SCHEDULE
Chicago Delivery Dates:
1st Summer Membership
Sunday May 18
Sunday June 01
Sunday June 15
Sunday June 29

2nd Summer Membership
Sunday July 13
Sunday July 27
Sunday August 10
Sunday August 31


THE DESCRIPTION

The intention behind The Salsa Fund is to build a collective of salsa lovers and local art patrons that are interested in funding community projects through non-traditional means. The money raised from the summer membership will be used to deliver a series of street workshops in the Chicago land area. The street workshops will focus on various art projects that address community concerns and provides a space for community members to build efficacy through discussions, relationships, and art campaigns.

THE COST

This projects can only happen with community support, which is a main goal of the project. If you are interested in participating through the purchase of a membership for salsa this summer, please contact me to find out how to get involved.

[werdmvmnt@gmail.com|William Estrada]