Artist Talk (Walkthrough) by several of the artists in the residency: Sat., Aug 29 from 5-7 pm.
Industry of the Ordinary, summer residency exhibition, emerging artists from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago; and The Feast Theatre Collective
SoNa Chicago Contemporary Art is proud to host World Without Promises, the culminating exhibition of the Industry of the Ordinary (IOTO) 2026 Summer Residency. The one-day full activation of the exhibition with 16 artists will be on Sat., Aug. 22, 2026 from 5-8 pm at the gallery, which is located at 1527 N. Ashland Ave. The non-performative elements of the exhibition will be on view at the gallery through Sat., August 29. An Artist Walkthrough will take place on Sat., Aug. 29 from 5-7 pm where the artists will discuss their work and offer deeper insights into their processes and the evolution of their practice.
On Thursday, Aug 27, a special performance by The Feast Theatre Collective called “7 Parties” will take place among the artwork.
The theme of the exhibition World Without Promises asks: In a world where promises dissolve into systems and abstractions, what forms of connection might emerge when we trade guarantees for the fragile act of being present together.
Industry of the Ordinary (IOTO) is a two-person conceptual art collaborative, made up of Chicago-based artists and educators Adam Brooks and Mathew Wilson. Their ever-evolving summer residency program, now in its ninth year, continues to offer a platform for critical experimentation and bold expression by emerging artists. Wilson is leading this summer’s residency program. The program provides artists working in performance, installation and other non-traditional mediums extensive opportunities to develop their practice through in-progress presentations, peer-led critiques, visiting artist workshops, and a formal group exhibition.
The artists participating in the residency program this summer are all current or former students at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC). At the opening on Sat., Aug. 22 at SoNa Chicago, all of the residents will activate the full site of the exhibition address - moving beyond the main gallery walls to engage both the building in the rear and exterior spaces. Visitors will see a mix of time-based, performative, and spatial interventions alongside two- and three-dimensional works, continuing the Residency’s longstanding commitment to diverse and experimental practices.
The participating artists this year are Pruthvish Dangat, Helen Harrison, Abby Haskins, Zeynep Karahasan, Koki Kin, Harry Yechan Lee, Anya Lomachenko, Akemi Nomo, Autumn Pease, de Pan, Olivia Sharkey, Elyxir Van Kampen, Koichi Raphael Hiraishi, David Li, Nia Diaz-Perez, and Chris Mah Stoneham-Browa.
Since its founding in 2015, the IOTO Summer Residency has cultivated a space for radical questioning and creative rigor. This year’s exhibition continues that tradition, inviting visitors to witness the unfolding of new artistic voices engaged in both personal narrative and public discourse — and to be part of a conversation that extends well beyond the gallery walls.
