Auld Lang Syne

Thank you to my alma mater Columbia University for featuring me again yesterday, this time in their Instagram stories! From when I was named one of 2023’s Culture Shifters by HuffPost:

Now, on to more sneak peeks at the artwork that will be in LAMINATOR Vol. 1 zine (pre-order the inaugural issue here!):

A dreamy photograph called Through the looking glass 4 by Klinta Kalneja in Riga, Latvia:

An incredible acrylic painting called The Streets Are Ours by Chicago artist Keelan McMorrow:

He says:

“As a painter, I’ve always tended to view my work as a sort of alchemy—from pigment to paint, concept to realization, there’s always some kind of transformation afoot. But the thing about painting a picture is that getting another person to look at it is pretty much the whole point, and that’s where the last bit of magic occurs. Whether or not someone else’s heart gets the message, their brain has gotten a piece of that I’ve been feeling, and if I’m lucky it’ll turn into something else, because it isn’t just mine anymore.”

Bonus: Keelan’s take on AI “artists”:

An opportunity for Chicagoans: DCASE’s 2024 Individual Artists Program Grant application is now open! I’m a past awardee; both times I applied, I was selected to receive the grant!: The first was for my ongoing large-scale interactive public art and mapping project, Dreams of a City*; the second was when I conceived of SLAYSIAN**. More details for IAP here. The deadline is January 16, 2024, 5pm CST.

*(Recent interviews about that passion project!: WGN Morning News (video, recorded live), WBEZ (audio, recorded live), Chicago Reader (article).)

**(The exhibition I created and curated celebrating Asian American artists in Chicago and the Midwest, which finally happened in person in 2021! You can continue to enjoy the original virtual version from 2020 here and read about SLAYSIAN in press coverage (including feature articles, reviews, and interviews with the artists and myself) from 2020 here.)

And some fun stuff as we close out 2023:

• When I was a kid I made these little mint candy snowmen from scratch (following a recipe from American Girl Magazine) and my mom still has them in the fridge and showed ‘em to me for the first time since [maybe] the ‘00s. And now I’m showing them to you.
• A silly little anniversary: This past fall marked 20(!) years of me having the same hair “style” / a middle part. I don’t have any photos of me from autumn 2003 on hand, so here’s a photo from summer 2004, along with some context for the location.
• An art-related anniversary: Throwback to 10(!) years ago when I was invited to curate the exhibition for Sixty Inches from Center x Autotelic’s birthday bash at what was then called Flats Studio, which was a massive old former bank building, and before that it was a former vaudeville theater, in Uptown. (Look up 1050 W. Wilson Ave.—that was the venue! And now it’s about to be the new home for Double Door.)

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year, everyone!

Waterworld

My photo Terminus—shot on my iPhone 5s in January 2020 of the Perito Moreno Glacier in Argentina—was selected to be exhibited in 71% - The State of Water at Palazzo Costanzi, Sala Umberto Veruda, during Trieste Photo Days in Trieste, Italy! Here are some install shots by Exhibit Around, as well as my original photo (see if you can spot it in each exhibition photo). Grazie!

(View more of my mobile photography here, and read more about that Patagonia trip—the last time I travelled—in my pre-pandemic post “Alegría.”)

Switching gears to showcasing others’ talents: My new art, poetry, and writing zine, LAMINATOR Vol. 1, is available to pre-order! On the cover will be this piece:

Charcoal drawing called Acolyte #1 by Win Wallace,
an artist in Lockhart, Texas

And on the inside: Poetry, prose, and artwork across all media (including painting, illustration, painting, collage, textiles, and more) by 68 artists, poets, and writers from all over Chicago, the country, and the world.

It also has an accompanying online exhibition! A few of the artists featured in the zine have art that’s available for purchase; this includes the originals of their pieces in the publication, as well as bonus pieces. Browse them here and support independent artists!

Pictured above are ethereal digital paintings printed on Giclée Archival Paper by Buuchau Chau, a self-taught digital artist from Waterloo, Canada.

You Ain’t Zine Nothing Yet

I’m so excited to announce the contributors in my inaugural zine, LAMINATOR Vol. 1! This new publication—Artists on the Lam’s first physical booklet—features work by 68* artists, poets, and writers from all over Chicago, the country, and the world. This is a labor of love.

*(If you think that’s a lot (it is): The submission process unexpectedly became highly competitive for a little zine; I received applications from over 200(!) people, a record number for me. It got to the point where one night I actually continued to review entries in my dreams.)

In this volume, enjoy poetry, prose, and art across all media and forms—including illustration, painting, photography, collage, textiles, and more—by:

Ami Moregore, Ami Watanabe, Angela Townsend, Annie Govekar, Audrey Clarendon, Buuchau Chau, Chantal Danyluk, Charlene Moy, Christine Lozano, Claire Cai, Constance Volk, Cynthia J. Lee, Dana Albalushi, Darcie Denton, Darinka VZ, Emily Andrews, Emily Thornton Calvo, Fei Ewald, Fernanda Morales Tovar, Gabe Drueke, George Peterson, Gloria Tang Yuze, Hayden Minor, InsomniaBird (Susie Xiong), Jamiece Adams, Jasmine Marie, Jessica Smit Mattingly, Jonathan Espinoza-Perez, Josepha Natzke, Julia Graczyk, Kathy Halper, Keelan McMorrow, Kelly Eden, Klinta Kalneja, Kurt Kreissl, Laura Cantor, Laura Catherwood, Laura Rodriguez, Lillian Prichard, Maddie Hinrichs, Maham Ali, Marcia Biasiello, Marie Magnetic, Mark Banks, Mary Kate Fahrenbach Venturini, Meri Kukkavaara, Nalendra Ezra a.k.a Ejura, Nancy Bechtol, Olukorede Ojelade, Oscar Eduardo de Paz, Patrick Earl Hammie, Pedro Patti, Renata Hernández, Renee McGinnis, Richard Gessert, Sarah Lorentz, Seth King, Shannon Sphar, Sneha Paul, Sophia Croasdale, Stafford Hiroshi Smith, Taryn Okesson, Tiffany Gholar, Vaishnavi Sivaprasad, Wendy Wahman, Win Wallace, Yulin Yuan, and Zee Tan Zhi Wang

Created and edited by Jenny Lam

Pre-order the zine here, where you can also get a sneak peek at some of the artwork and poetry inside, as well as view a mini online art exhibition featuring some of the contributing artists!

Pictured above: A charcoal drawing called Acolyte #1 (this will be on the cover!) by Win Wallace, an artist currently based in Lockhart, Texas, and an oil painting called Wallflowers by Emily Andrews, an artist, actress, and musician from Niagara Falls, Ontario.

We Were Seeds

Submissions for LAMINATOR Vol. 1 are now closed! Thank you so much to everyone who submitted to my new zine; I received applications from 200(!) artists, poets, and writers, the most I’ve ever gotten for anything! And my favorite part is how international this was; I have entries from so many different countries all around the world—truly living up to Artists on the Lam’s motto since 2011, “championing local artists; channeling global perspectives”.

Everyone will be notified whether they’ve been selected in… I originally said about a week or so (hopefully! it’s a lot more than I expected and I’ll try my best). Thanks in advance for your patience!

In the meantime, here’s a sneak peek at one of the submissions; it’s a collage called O’ The Almighty Watermelon by Nalendra Ezra a.k.a. Ejura, an artist in Indonesia.

Sign up for pre-orders of the publication here!

[No] One [Is an] Eyeland

I’ve just been announced as one of the winners of One Eyeland Awards | World’s Top Mobile Photographers! My 2014 photo On the Boardwalk won Bronze, and my 2015 photo Spiral and 2017 photo Singing Sands are Finalists. All shot on my iPhone 5s, of course. You can view more of my mobile photography here.

Pivoting to showing off the work of other artists: The open call for my new zine, LAMINATOR, has been included in Artwork Archive’s monthly “Best Artist Opportunities” list!

And here’s a sneak peek at one of the submissions I’ve gotten so far. I usually don’t share art until after the application deadline (which is Monday!), but I couldn’t resist. Happy Halloween!

Oil painting by Kelly Eden,
a contemporary artist in Los Angeles, CA

Submit to Artists on the Lam’s inaugural zine here, where you can also sign up for pre-orders!

Open Call for Artists, Poets, & Writers: Submit to Artists on the Lam’s 1st Zine, Laminator

Artists on the Lam is thrilled to announce the launch of our inaugural zine, Laminator! All artists, poets, and writers from anywhere in the world are welcome to submit work for publication!

In an ever increasingly digital world, we often find ourselves seeking ways to unplug, searching for the tangible, the analog, something tactile and physical we can touch and hold with our own hands, something to keep and cherish as a memento, as ephemera, something to lose, something to find, something to give and share with a loved one like a secret.

Don’t get us wrong—we’re all about the digital realm too; after all, Artists on the Lam started out as a blog back in 2011 (and it’s still going strong!), and during this ongoing pandemic we pivoted to virtual exhibitions (such as SLAYSIAN in 2020, DECAHEDRON in 2021, and HYGGE in 2023). And, of course, you’re reading this online.

But this project has been a long time coming; Laminator is the brainchild of Chicago-based artist, indie curator, writer, and Artists on the Lam founder Jenny Lam, who has been keeping snail mail—and the USPS—alive for the past 15 years with her beloved postcard project Dreams of a City, and who was probably the only young person in the world who didn’t get a smartphone until 2014 (and then stubbornly used that same old phone for 7 years).

And, much like the soothing sounds of a pencil scratching on paper, there’s just something about the feel of flipping through the pages of a good book.

What we’re looking for:

• Visual art
• All mediums and forms are welcome! Examples:
• Drawing
• Painting
• Photography
• Printmaking
• Collage
• Etc.!
• Poetry
• Prose
• All forms are welcome, including non-fiction such as personal essays, anecdotes, letters, etc.!

There’s no theme; submit your best work! (But if that’s too broad for you and you’d like some guidance, here’s a theme Artists on the Lam has always been obsessed with: Dreams. Interpret that however you wish.)

There’s no application fee! It’s free to submit to the zine!

Ready to apply? Complete the steps below:

You I See

My artwork is currently being exhibited in a museum in Korea! Five of my photos—shot on my iPhone 5s—are featured in CICA Museum’s international exhibition Color 2023, which opened a couple days ago and will be up until October 1. If you’re in Gimpo-si, check it out! Everyone else, take a look at the show’s online catalog here.

Earlier this week I was a guest speaker at the University of Illinois Chicago! Thank you to Professor Carrie McGath for having me in your English classes—it was so much fun!

 

And, as always, visit my social media (such as Facebook and Instagram) for my previews and highlights of new art around town.

PS. PSA: The updated COVID booster targeting XBB.1.5 (the new variant driving the current surge) is available at Walgreens starting Monday! I scheduled my appointment for next week.

Roar, Lion, Roar

Thank you so much to my alma mater for featuring me! I’m also in their “Alumni in the News” article—honored to be included alongside Emmy nominees et al. (And on their Instagram page two rows directly below me is Obama.)

Also, thank you all for the birthday wishes!

Lastly, this is the final week to see the group exhibition I’m in, Sweet Home Chicago! The show, which features 78(!) local artists, is up through this Friday, September 1, in the 4th Floor Gallery of the Bridgeport Art Center.

Lionhearted

My 2014 photo Petal—shot on my iPhone 5s—is currently on view in the group exhibition Sweet Home Chicago at the Bridgeport Art Center! Thank you again to curator Marci Rubin for choosing my work and for putting together a great show. Here’s an installation shot she took of the wall that includes my piece (the MCA’s spiral staircase!):

(You can view many more install shots in Marci’s Facebook album here.)

If you missed the opening last month, no worries; there’s another reception this Friday, August 18, 7-10pm, during BAC’s 3rd Fridays Open Studios event! RSVP here. Enjoy the works of over 70 artists in this exhibit alone, and even more throughout the building!

Also, today’s my birthday! Here’s a candid of me for HuffPost’s “Culture Shifters: The Change-Makers We Are Watching in 2023 | Jenny Lam Turned Down Disney At Age 8 — And Carved Her Own Path As An Artist” feature article written by Yue Li and photographed in Chinatown by Taylor Glascock:

In lieu of birthday gifts: Consider becoming a patron of Artists on the Lam! Or, if you would like a gift in the form of art, consider collecting a work or two from my shop!

Center Stage

Friday night’s opening reception for Sweet Home Chicago!:

In the middle of my crowd shot: My mom in the white pants and my dad in the white
mask looking at a sculpture.

The few times I was near my piece it was fun seeing folks talk to each other about it.

Missed it? Not to worry; the exhibition runs through September 1, and there’ll be another 3rd Fridays Open Studios event on August 8. Location: Bridgeport Art Center, 4th Floor Gallery.

And as a reminder, since Twitter’s in shambles, you can also find me at:

• Facebook: facebook.com/TheJennyLam
• Instagram: instagram.com/artistsonthelam
• TikTok: tiktok.com/@artistsonthelam
• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thejennylam
• Tumblr: artistsonthelam.tumblr.com
• Threads: threads.net/@artistsonthelam
• Mastodon: mastodon.art/@jennylam

Follow along for art, life, palate cleansers, occasional politics, and general nerdery.

Building Bridges

This Friday! I have a piece in the group exhibition Sweet Home Chicago, part of the Bridgeport Art Center’s 3rd Fridays Open Studios event. RSVP here and enjoy 6 floors of art!

Hope to see you there!

A Pick-Me-Up

The local exhibition I’m in, Sweet Home Chicago, is one of Sixty Inches from Center’s July Art Picks! Thanks, Sixty!

The show opens in exactly one week at the Bridgeport Art Center’s 4th Floor Gallery, 7-10pm. It’ll be fun; there are over 70 participating artists!

Urbs in Horto

As an addendum to this post: I’ve just been announced as one of the Semifinalists for the Urban Photo Awards 2023! Thank you to the Super Jury!

Also, my photos (On the Boardwalk and Petal, both shot on my iPhone 5s in 2014) will be exhibited at Trieste Photo Days in Italy! This will be my second year in a row showing my work in the international photography festival.

(Before then, you can view Petal in Sweet Home Chicago at the 4th Floor Gallery of the Bridgeport Art Center starting on the 21st!)

It Pours

My 2017 photo Singing Sands—shot on my iPhone 5s—has been selected to be exhibited in Ancestral Landscapes: Investigating Heritage and Home at NOT REAL ART! View the show here. Thank you to curator Kirsten Bengtson-Lykoudis for choosing my work.

(This is a photograph I took while walking to Crescent Lake after a camel ride on Echoing Sand Dune, a.k.a. Singing Sand Dune, or Mingsha Shan, or Mingsha Mountain, in the oasis of Dunhuang—which in ancient times was a bustling hub on the Silk Road—in Gansu province, China. One of my favorite places on Earth. View more of my mobile photography here.)

So, with Twitter imploding, for social media you can also follow me at:

• Facebook: facebook.com/TheJennyLam
• Instagram: instagram.com/artistsonthelam
• TikTok: tiktok.com/@artistsonthelam
• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thejennylam
• Tumblr: artistsonthelam.tumblr.com
• Mastodon: mastodon.art/@jennylam
• I’ve joined Meta’s new Twitter competitor Threads, of course: threads.net/@artistsonthelam

And if anyone has a Bluesky invite, I’d be much obliged!

When It Rains

I’m one of the Selected Photographers for the Urban Photo Awards 2023 in Trieste, Italy! And the competition received a staggering 12,000 submissions! Two of my works have been published in their gallery: My 2014 photos Petal (yes, the same piece in yesterday’s post) and On the Boardwalk, both shot on my iPhone 5s. Thank you to all the jurors!

[Update: I’m a Semifinalist!]

Speaking of that beloved phone I used as my camera for seven years… Here’s one of the photographs Taylor Glascock took of me for HuffPost Culture Shifters 2023 that did make it into the article.

My favorite portrait in the feature.

As Taylor wrote on her Instagram, “Jenny was so game for my ideas on a frigid Chicago day.” It’s not often I’m in front of the lens, and it was fun!

And: Stay safe in this air quality, everyone!

Baby don’t you wanna go

My 2014 photograph Petal—shot on my iPhone 5s—has been selected to be exhibited in Sweet Home Chicago at the Bridgeport Art Center! I’ve always thought the BAC was such a beautiful venue and I’m overjoyed to show my art there. Thank you to curator Marci Rubin for choosing my work.

Bridgeport Art Center. Photo via BAC.

When:
July 21 – September 1, 2023
Opening Reception: Friday, July 21, 7-10pm

Where:
Bridgeport Art Center, 4th Floor Gallery
1200 W. 35th St., Chicago, IL 60609

Petal, 2014.

Also, in case you missed the previous post: I’ve been named one of HuffPost’s Culture Shifters of the Year!

And right on time for this post: I’ve just received the photos taken of me for the feature, including outtakes! Here’s the very first photo Taylor Glascock shot of me on that chilly March day, outside the Chicago Cultural Center, before we headed to Chinatown. They were both among my list of locations that are important to me.

Sweet home Chicago indeed.

Culture Shift

I’ve been sitting on this news for months, but now that it’s been published, I’m giddy with excitement (and embarrassment?*) I can finally share with you that I’ve been named one of 2023’s Culture Shifters by HuffPost! *(I burst into laughter when I saw the headline.)

I’m so honored to be featured on a list alongside such creative change-makers. Endless thanks, love, and gratitude to:

• Reporter Yue Li, a graduate student at Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism. Yue had reached out to me for “a profile story about an outstanding Chicago-based artist” and interviewed me all the way back in January (I remember we wished each other a Happy Chinese New Year!). She then pitched her story to the HuffPost culture team in March… and not only did their editorial team say yes, but the editor also said she’d love to include me as a Culture Shifter!

• Freelance photographer Taylor Glascock. Taylor took these photos of me in Chicago’s Chinatown on a brisk (to say the least!) but bright March afternoon. Everything I’m wearing in them I’ve had for at least 14 years (exception: my sneakers, which I’ve had for 7) (this is a pattern you’ll find with me and belongings)

• Senior editor of culture Erin Evans

• Senior photo editor Chris McGonigal

• Artist Nancy Bechtol, one of my Artists on the Lam, who was also interviewed for this piece and had such kind words to say about me

• Everyone who’s been a part of my journey. We don’t get here alone!

Read the interview here.

Talk of the Town

To accompany my solo exhibition at Harold Washington Library, I’ll be doing an Artist Talk on Monday, May 15, 1-2pm! The talk is a hybrid event that can also be attended via Zoom.

Image via Chicago Public Library.

If you’re joining in person:
400 S. State St.
1st floor, inside Popular Library
(Enter on State and immediately turn left)

Masks are strongly encouraged in all CPL locations.

Thank you again to Chicago Public Library for the opportunity and for choosing me to exhibit my artwork in HWLC! I’m proud to be a part of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and CPL’s 150th anniversary celebration!

Case of You

Ta-da! I installed my art over the weekend. My solo exhibition at Harold Washington Library, the Chicago Public Library’s main branch, is now on view and will be up all of May in celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month as well as CPL’s 150th anniversary! My exhibit is a photographic love letter to Chicago, featuring photographs I’ve taken around our wonderful city throughout the past decade—all shot on my iPhone 5s.

Also, for any of you who’ve always wanted to find one of my Dreams of a City postcards out in the wild over the years but haven’t been able to: I left some there. Feel free to take one!

Location:
400 S. State St.
1st floor, inside the Popular Library
(Enter on State and immediately turn left. Once in Popular Library, the display cases are right by the front desk.)

Hours:
M-Th 9am-8pm
F & Sat 9am-5pm
Sun 1-5pm

(Note: All CPL locations will be closed May 2 for Staff Training Day and May 29 for Memorial Day.)

Masks are strongly encouraged in all CPL locations.

Happy AAPIHM!