High Concept Labs

Bad at Sports is the Midwest’s largest independent contemporary art podcast & blog. They’ve interviewed hundreds of incredible artists, including Kerry James Marshall, Alex Katz, Wafaa Bilal, Chloë Bass, and Brendan_Fernandes.

Now these art-world troublemakers behind the Bad at Sports podcast are stepping up to the mic to provide live sports commentary at our upcoming Bowling Party! Get ready for play-by-play analysis of gutter balls, strike streaks, and questionable form, all delivered with their signature mix of wit, art-world insight, and side tangents.

🗓️ Sunday, Aug. 30, 2-6pm at Fireside Bowl
🍕 Pizza by LOBO
🎳 Bowling + Spectating + Nonsense encouraged

This Bowling Party supports Comfort Station Logan Square, Rough House Puppet Arts, High Concept Labs and Homeroom, organizations that continually champion Chicago artists. Every strike, spare, and gutter ball helps raise vital funds to keep Chicago’s creative ecosystem thriving! 🔗 Buy tickets at the link in bio.

Bad At Sports Podcasters:

Duncan MacKenzie (Duncan MacKenzie)
Jesse Malmed (Jesse (Malmed))
Ryan Peter Miller (Ryan Peter Miller)
Brian Andrews

What’s a bowling party without great pizza?

We’re thrilled that our friends at will be feeding our bowlers at our upcoming Bowling Party – a joint fundraiser to support Comfort Station Logan Square, Rough House Puppet Arts, Homeroom and High Concept Labs.

Pizza Lobo’s New York style pizza is a neighborhood favorite, and just a few minutes walk from Fireside Bowl!

Come bowl, cheer, and eat your weight in Pizza Lobo on Sunday, August 30 from 2-6pm.

🔗 Tickets at the link in bio!

“Archiving Disability,” is almost here! Don’t forget to RSVP at the link in our bio, and don’t miss out on this one of a kind Art/Access Lab! Taking place on August 16th from 2-4pm at Experimental Station (Experimental Station), this event is presented by High Concept Labs (High Concept Labs) and Unfolding Disability Futures (Unfolding Disability Futures).

Three artists working in different ways to engage with, investigate, and create archives will discuss the issues and opportunities they encounter in their practices. We’ll focus especially on what it means to engage with archives when one’s community has been historically harmed or omitted from historical records, how we center crip/disabled ways of collecting, creating, and preserving knowledge, and how artists play an important role in these processes.

🎨Featured Artists:
Reveca Torres
briananoonan
Tempestt Hazel

📸 Image Credits:

Slide 1 & 2 - Photos by Isaac Yuquan Duan. (2024-12-07 Experimental Station: Sofía Gabriel Del Callejo, Helen Lee, Regina Martinez, Allen Moore, Rigo Saura, Irene Hsiao, Cat Mahari.)

Looking for a fun family outing? We’ve got just the thing! On Sunday August 30th, join us from 2-6pm for a day of bowling, table games, prizes and activities for the whole family. Childcare will be provided, we’ll have pizza for the kiddos, and live roving puppets who would love to say hello! Kids bowl for less, so snag your tickets at the link in our bio before they run out!

Tickets to this bowling fundraiser support the work of Chicago arts organizations Comfort Station Logan Square, Rough House Puppet Arts, Homeroom, and High Concept Labs.

📸 Image Credits: 2025 Bowling Party; Photos by Angee Lennard

On November 10th, join High Concept Labs for an exclusive evening event centering the work of internationally renowned illusionist and HCL alum Jeanette Andrews (Jeanette Andrews). Over the course of the evening, be challenged by Andrews to consider why we believe in the seemingly impossible…

One of the most creative minds in magic today, Andrews is known for performing and speaking for the most prestigious institutions in the world from Harvard to MIT, and bringing her distinctive brand of magic to luxury private events for the likes of Rolex and Ferrari. Hailed by PBS and the New York Times, Andrews combines sensory anomalies, art and scientific anecdotes to create experiences that bridge everyday life to a special, heightened world. Artnet says, “Andrews’s avant-garde approach to magic transforms it into performance art.”

Mark your calendars for November 10th so you don’t miss out on this unique experience at the intersection of performance and magic, illusion and reality. Mingle with artists supported by HCL, enjoy delicious food and drink, and experience the work of our very own alum. Tickets to this event support the groundbreaking work at HCL — providing accessible residency programs for artists across disciplines interested in experimentation, discovery, exchange, and risk.

📸Photo by Daniel Aragon

What does it mean to engage with archives when one’s community has been harmed or omitted from historical records? How do we center crip/disabled ways of collecting, creating, and preserving knowledge? And what is the artist’s role in all of this?

These are just a few of the questions we will be discussing at our upcoming Art/Access Lab, “Archiving Disability: Preserving, Recovering, and Centering Disability Art & Culture.” Join Reveca Torres (Reveca Torres), Bri Noonan (), and Tempestt Hazel (Tempestt Hazel) on August 16th from 2-4pm for a conversation around issues and opportunities across archival processes.

This event is presented by High Concept Labs (High Concept Labs) and Unfolding Disability Futures (Unfolding Disability Futures), with support from Experimental Station (Experimental Station). Visit our website for more information on accessibility, how to get to the venue, and other details. RSVP at the link in our bio!

📸Image Credits:

Photos by Isaac Yuquan Duan. 2024-12-07 Experimental Station: Sofía Gabriel Del Callejo, Helen Lee, Regina Martinez, Allen Moore, Rigo Saura, Irene Hsiao, Cat Mahari.

Dust off your bowling shoes! Comfort Station Logan Square is teaming up with High Concept Labs, Rough House Puppet Arts, and Homeroom for a joint Bowling Party! Comfort Station supports the artists of Chicagoland, activating a historic building with public, community-driven programs that foster vibrant connections at the intersection of art and life. Since 2011, Comfort Station has operated out of a 1920s city-owned building that was once intended to be a space for travelers to stay warm while waiting for public transportation. That legacy fuels a mission to act as a porous and public gathering space for a variety of creative communities.

When you register to bowl, you support Comfort Station and the artists that make it all possible. We hope you’ll join us in supporting Comfort Station, alongside Homeroom, High Concept Labs, and Rough House Puppet Arts! This joint fundraiser bowling party will take place at the iconic Fireside Bowl on Sunday, August 30, from 2-6 PM.

🔗 TICKETS NOW AVAILABLE. Join HOMEROOM, High Concept Labs, Rough House, and for a joint fundraiser bowling party at the iconic Fireside Bowl on Sunday, August 30, from 2-6 PM.

Here’s how to get in on the action:
🥇 Register a Team — Bring your own team of 5 bowlers!
👀 Bring Friends — Sign up with friends and we’ll help complete your 5-person team.
🎳 Individual Bowler — Roll solo and we’ll match you with a team!
🧑‍🧒‍🧒 Bring the Family — Kids ages 5-14 can bowl for $25!
🐱 Alley Cat — Be a spectator! Enjoy artsy activities and live commentary, cheer for your favorite team and show off your best bowling look.
🍺 VIP Add-On - Available with any tier! Includes a wristband to enjoy the open bar and one raffle ticket.
🎟️ ALL ticket tiers include pizza from Pizza Lobo, a commemorative t-shirt, up to 3 games, plus swag for every person on the team!
🪩 Dress from your favorite bowling era — 1950s cool, 1970s disco, 1990s grunge…

Special thanks to , Bad at Sports and
Design by Bryan Bedell of Midwest Ephemera ()
📸Photography by Ricardo Adame.

Put your brand in front of a loyal, arts-engaged audience: four of Chicago’s independent arts nonprofits are joining forces for an end-of-summer fundraiser benefiting local artists, and you could be our next sponsor. On Sunday August 30 from 2-6pm, Rough House Puppet Arts, High Concept Labs, Comfort Station Logan Square, and Homeroom are taking over the iconic Fireside Bowl () for an afternoon of bowling, pizza, a raffle, and friendly competition to celebrate the creative community that makes this city distinct. Sponsorship packages even include getting to bring a bowling team! Chicago’s independent arts sector runs on community investment - sponsoring this event signals that your company is part of Chicago’s creative fabric. Contact Angee Lennard at angee@highconceptlabs to learn more and reserve your spot! Sponsorship closes on July 15th.

The Chicago Performance Community Convening on April 18th saw a great turnout, and we’re here with an event recap. Check out the post for what we heard and read below for next steps.

Put on by Chicago Dancemakers Forum and High Concept Labs, the convening was a step forward, and we are enthusiastic to continue this work together.

Next steps may include...

1) Getting connected with fellow community members around arts advocacy, collective resource-sharing, local micro-residencies, cooperative economics, & creative process groups.

2) Being part of CDF's artist focus groups to help form the strategic direction of CDF going forward.

To be apart of one or both of these actions, visit the link below:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdeAhg20f9FT08-vQZwgVJZoqICSmIB_6p5z5QlhUNeqaaP-A/viewform

For more information, check out artist Maya Collins’ summary of the convening published online at Art Currently.

https://artcurrently.com/chicago-creatives-gather-to-share-resources-and-problem-solve

Thank you to our facilitators Alysha McElroy Hodges, Nora Sharp and Sam Thousand, and all who participated!

📸 Photography by Ry Thiel