Connected.

Side Street Founder and Executive Director Erin Rehberg continues the 2023 Vote Local series with Elgin City Councilman John Steffen, running for re-election. Vote Local is Side Street's series about the arts in politics and attempts to speak to as many local candidates as possible about their participation in and views on the arts in Elgin.

Side Street Founder and Executive Director Erin Rehberg kicks off the 2023 Vote Local series with Elgin City Councilwoman Rose Martinez, who is currently running for re-election. Vote Local is Side Street's series about the arts in politics and attempts to speak to as many local candidates as possible about their participation in and views on the arts in Elgin.

Alex has a conversation with Going Dutch artist, Sara Peak Convery. They discuss Sara's background, art practices, and take a deep look at her Going Dutch exhibition, "Uncovered: Would You Touch Me?".

Alex has a conversation with Going Dutch artist, Rita Grendze. They discuss Rita's influences, training, and media choices. They take an especially close look at her installation, "Belly".

Assistant Director, Ivette interviews one of our summer camp groups, Team Pikachu.

Assistant Director, Ivette interviews one of our summer camp groups, The Happy Cool Queens.

Assistant Director, Jess Rocha, speaks with Ken Simonsen about his art and collaboration.

Assistant Director Nick Mataragas has a conversation with Year 9 artist Kateryna Mazhuha. They discuss her Year 9 piece, Statice Flowers, her journey in discovering her own style of art, and the transition from living in the Ukraine to living in the United States. You can find Kateryna's work on her instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kateryna_mazhuha/

Assistant Director Nick Mataragas has a conversation with Year 9 artist Chimezi Anorue. They discuss Anorue's drawing style, his inspirations, and specific pieces of art. His piece, Rainbow Man was a Runner Up at Side Street Studio Arts ' Year 9 exhibition. His Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paschalmezie/ Rainbow Man: https://www.instagram.com/p/B6p0i2Igmsz/ Serenity: https://www.instagram.c...

Assistant Director, Ivette talks to Stephanie Sailer about her piece in Year 9, Persistence of Living. Stephanie won best in show and she talks about her process and how she came up with the idea of creating these multi-media sculptures.

Assistant Director, Jess, speaks with Danielle Piloto about her artistic practice: touching on topics such as her inspiration, growing a community, daily practice, subject matter, and more. You can connect and learn more here:  https://linktr.ee/DaniellePiloto

Side Street Studio Arts Founder and Executive Director Erin Rehberg talks with Elgin artist, community leader, and Side Street's new President Freddrick D. Wimms. From the Nightmare on Chicago Street origin story to his thoughts on curating the "Black Spectrum" exhibition in the Side Street Gallery this month, the two focus on the community of art and the "if we build it, it will be built" philoso...

SSSA Founders and Executive Directors Tanner Melvin and Erin Rehberg reflect on 2021 and look forward to 2022 at Side Street.

Assistant Director, Nick Mataragas has a conversation with Illustrator Amanda Scharf. They discuss her technique, the con community, and developing a story around your art. http://www.amandascharf.com/ https://linktr.ee/amandascharf https://www.instagram.com/aya_feesh/ https://twitter.com/amandascharf?lang=en

Assistant Director, Nick has a conversation with artist, Cryomera. They discuss selling art at comic cons, pen and ink drawing, relief printing, and Twitch. You can check out Cryomera’s work at: https://cryomera.com/ https://www.artstation.com/cryomera https://www.twitch.tv/cryomera https://www.etsy.com/shop/cryomera

Side Street Founder and Executive Director Erin Rehberg talks with artist Rachel Elizabeth Maley, who curated Side Street's upcoming exhibition Self-Ish, an exploration of how and why we construct self-identities. The two discuss the motivations and themes of the show and complexities of self-representation in art and our daily lives. Self-Ish opens in the Gallery at Side Street on Friday, Decembe...

Side Street Founder & Executive Director Tanner Melvin chats with Side Street Music Coordinator, musician, and promoter, Peter Brankovic. We discuss music philosophy, religion, inspiration, and so much more. Peter brings their new band  BOUND  to Side Street on Saturday, November 20th with special guests Motion Failure, Ethereal Lotus, & What To Do. #supportlocalmusic

Side Street Founder & Executive Director Erin Rehberg talks with Alisa Duda, Dave Metzger, and Mike Rende of Elgin's Oddball Art Labs, a non-profit artist based organization created to advance the presence of the arts in the Fox Valley and beyond. The group is bringing "A Cabinet of Curious Characters" to the Gallery and Theater at Side Street November 19-28.

SSSA Founder and Executive Director Tanner Melvin chats with thespian, D&D master, and manager of Blue Box Cafe, Nathan Chesterfield. Our discussion ranges from falling in love with theater, life during Covid, celebrating the lives of Chris and Kathleen Mau, and The future of blue box café.

SSSA Founder and Executive Director Erin Rehberg talks with creative Lindsay Johnson, whose work is current featured in the Gallery at Side Street in  Deep Waters , Johnson's first-ever solo exhibition. Artist mother and educator, Lindsay Johnson constructed narrative works on panels with acrylic, photographs, or found material to reconstruct moments in time, ideas, and dreams during the Covi...

Nick has a conversation with Michael Bradt, the owner of the soon to open Bit Theater. They discuss the challenges related to opening a brand new theater, and their history together as improvisers. Michael shares the vision for his theater and training center. To learn more about the Bit Theater, you can visit https://bitimprov.com/

Four members of Elgin's newly emerging Social Justice Collective, Councilman Corey Dixon, Amanda Harris, Dr. Rise' Jones, and Paige Roeber join SSSA Founder and Executive Director Erin Rehberg to discuss the obstacles and inspirations that are emerging from their Making Space project, which was developed in response to Elgin's Black Lives Matter protests during the summer of 2020. The project cons...

SSSA Assistant Director, Ivette De Santiago, sits down with Florida based artist Kelsey Wilkerson to discuss her art practice and her journey of self re-discovery during the pandemic. Kelsey discusses how she went from working in a busy Manhattan office to taking the office with her through out several cities in Florida, including onto a boat. She has discovered a love for wilderness photography t...

SSSA Founder and Executive Director Tanner Melvin talks with Chicago-based and L.A. born artist Jocelyn Ingram. Jocelyn is our newest recruit as the talent sourcer for Side Street TV, AND she's the brainchild behind the stop-motion animation studio, Plastic Buddies.

Side Street Founder and Executive Director and Going Dutch Festival Artistic Director Erin Rehberg talks with Chicago-based dance artist Sophie Allen, who is one of two 2021 Going Dutch Festival Artists-in-Residence. The festival, a celebration of the female voice in the arts, will be held in and around downtown Elgin in June, and Allen will be performing, leading a workshop, and involved in the c...