Goodbye 2017!

Join us on a trip down memory lane as we look back at 2017. Lots of exciting moments working with new and old friends, traveling around the country and pushing the Movement through another year! 

Grassroots Chicago turns 1
For our one year anniversary we had the pleasure of hosting a large group of artists for the "Year of the Bear" exhibit in our Movement Gallery. This concept was brought to us from Don Mega Art which incorporated our iconic bear symbol. Each artist was given the same wooden cutout bear, but the end results varied dramatically. The lineup of artists ranged from graffiti writers, cartoonists, and plush sculptors. 

Afrokilla, Alexis Moulds, Alisa Ross(40 Threads), Ali6, Amuse126, Antckone, Brain Killer, C3P0, Czr Prz, Chris Dyer, Chrispy, Dmnology, Elloo, Feds, Firefly Glass, Hired Gunnz, JC Rivera, Jeremy Lombardo, Jessie Lu, Junkyard, Koli Ginger, Lie, Lisa Gray, Merlot, Mike Dornseif, Mobe Oner, Patt Knerr, Phybr, Rawooh, Revise, Rodney Dollah, Rome Won, Sam Flores, Sentrock, Sick Fisher, Stuk One, (sub)Urban Warrior, Tylor Schwarz, Teel One, Tra$h, Yungsailormoon

Along with our unique art show, on 4/20 we had Manic Focus drop in for a mini set at 4:20 p.m.! JMac played a few tracks off "Minds Rising" his most recent album at the time, along with Manic Focus staples and some other of his favorite songs. Surprisingly this was his first "DJ set" spinning with CDJs and he rocked the party proper!

Summer Time Chi... 
The hustle kicked into high gear once summer came around! For Grassroots, this time of year usually means festival season. We attended the usual suspects like Spring Awakening, Taste of Randolph, North Coast, and Riot Fest. Aside from the local ones we had staff members attend Summer Camp, both weekends of Electric Forest, SubOctave, and Oregon Eclipse Gathering.

Including the festival circuit we had a full schedule for Movement Gallery. We kicked off things in May with the "Melt" exhibit which featured the Melty Bros Aaron Brooks and Vincent Gordon. After the exhibit, we took the bros with us to Summer Camp and brought a mini gallery to our set up! Going into the other months we had some Chicago locals and favorites like Ali6, Sick Fisher and Jason Brammer. We were fortunate to bring Jason with us to North Coast and he live painted all weekend. 

Killa Killa...
Once festival season was official over for Grassroots Chicago, we still had a long road ahead for the remainder of the year. October rolled around and we had the amazing opportunity to work with the Deadbeats, which was the label created by Zeds Dead. Grassroots Chicago would be the location for the release of their newest merchandise line, and a surprise meet and greet with DC and Hooks from Zeds Dead. In addition, Hooks would be selling his original artwork for the very first time in the Movement Gallery. Being a graffiti artist before a music producer, Hooks was itching to throw something up in Chicago. We found him a wall near our shop and the mission was a success.

Work Hard, Plague Hard
Once Halloween weekend arrived; JunkYard and Uncle Harvey envisioned a creepy exhibit and executed it perfectly at Movement Gallery. The two local artists came together and brought it! The spooky level was at an all time high - hair was tucked away in obscure places brushing viewers as they moved throughout the room, everyone was greeted by a ghoul as they walked downstairs into the space, and the costumes were on point and highly encouraged. 

Brooks vs Kooz
What started as friendly horse-play has escalated into a fiery stand off between Aaron Brooks and Joshua Stewart AKA "Kooz". We were lucky to host Kooz's first solo show this November. Following that up in December we had our first solo show with Aaron Brooks. These two artists are well respected in their own realms which drew in fans from far and near. Collectors lined up with excitement in hopes to grab some limited edition merchandise and a chance to own an original piece from their favorite artist.
DISCLAIMER: THERE IS ACTUALLY NO BEEF BETWEEN BROOKS AND KOOZ 

Huge THANK YOU to all our supporters who have helped the Movement this far. Whether you've been around since 2009 or just started today, we appreciate each and every one of you. Chicago has treated Grassroots proper so far and we are very excited to bring you another year full of fun and memories.