Links Hall is a vital home for performance that literally *links* Chicago to the national scene, experimental Chicago artists with one another, and energetic audiences with work that changes how they see the world. It is an equity- and community-driven home for brand new ideas, expanding practices, and established work alike. Links means the world to me because it builds the world I love, and it’s been doing so for 45 years. And today it needs our support!
My Links Back Story:
I first encountered Links Hall when I was invited to Poonie’s Cabaret circa 2008. New to the city and missing NYC, I hadn’t yet found my niche or my people. That one night of queer performance spectacle rekindled a flame in my heart that in no small part led to me creating Salonathon a few years later. I’ve felt Links was a kind of home ever since… when I got to present performances & master classes by Manual Cinema, Christine Sun Kim, Danielle Linzer, and Ike Holter there through Illinois Humanities; when I attended the first electrifying performance of Erin Kilmurray’s “Search Party” or Okwui Okpokwasili & Peter Born’s “Bronx Gothic” (presented by Shoni Currier through DCASE); and when I joined as a board member several months ago after my friend and the brilliant leader SK Kerastas became its new Executive Director.
In an era of open hostility toward experimental art and nearly all marginalized identities, havens like Links Hall are all the more essential. And to be clear, Links’ life is on the line. Will you join me in donating to “Lifeline for Links?” Together we can build upon its legacy, protect the communities that rely upon it, and ensure another 45 years of vitality!
