THE FREE STORE at Gosia Koscielak

Gosia Koscielak Studio & Gallery
1646 N. Bosworth Ave., Chicago, IL 60622.
http://www.gosiakoscielak.com
[email protected]
T.847.858.1540




THE FREE STORE
Melinda Fries with Salem Collo-Julin and Biggest Fags Ever

Dates: Feb 7-28, 2007
Grand Opening Extravaganza: Sat, Feb 10th, 4-10pm

Melinda Fries, et al, are hosting a free store during the month of February 2007 at Gosia Koscielak Studio & Gallery. The space has been filled with free items from a variety of people and places. Clothing in all sizes, toys, books, furniture, office supplies, records, and more will be available for anyone to take home and keep. Visitors can also bring things to the gallery that they want to give away. The Free Store will also host free events (some listed below). Visitors who don't have items to give are invited to offer free services or other kinds of considerations, like making mix tapes or food to share, giving free haircuts, teaching language lessons, etc.

Free stores have existed in many configurations and places. This particular Free Store is mobile and will take up residence in another Chicagoland space after its residence at Gosia Koscielak. Buy nothing! Bring things, take things.

Some Categories:
Sporting Goods, Information, Travel, Clothing, Supplies, Kids, Office, Tech, Housewares, Media, Art, Costumes, Fancy, Adult

Special Events:
Everything Is Coming To You, You Better Get Ready: Sat Feb 17th at 7:30 pm
Featuring readings from Marc Arcuri, Dan Gleason, Meg McCarville and a DJ dance floor

Movies, Movies, Movies + Popcorn: Wed Feb 28th 7:30 pm
Curated by Ben Russell

Store Hours:
Tuesday + Friday 11am - 6pm
Wednesday + Thursday 11am - 9pm
Saturday 11am - 6 pm

Personnel: Melinda Fries (http://www.ausgang.com), Biggest Fags Ever (Rob Kelly, Zena Sakowski), and Salem Collo-Julin (Temporary Services http://www.temporaryservices.com) have collaborated on a variety of projects, including 2006’s Hot & Ready.


Melinda Fries is an artist and filmmaker currently living and working in Chicago. She spent several years in motion; hopping trains, hitchhiking, walking long distances, and moving from city to city. Since 1998, together with Bonnie Fortune, she has been the creator/curator of ausgang.com
http://ausgang.com/, an online exploration and travel guide of ephemeral experiences, stories, and collections. Her videos, and performances (Walking the Perimeter) examines the industrial corridors of Chicago. Fries is a creator of the website project In the Weather http://www.intheweather.org, and many others. She exhibited in the USA and Germany.


Salem Collo-Julin (born September 1974 in Chicago, Illinois) is a Chicago based female artist, writer, performer, and organizer. Collo-Julin is a member of Temporary Services, a collaborative group that creates projects, publications, and exhibitions based in the international art sphere. She is also a keyholder at Mess Hall, Chicago's experimental cultural center.

Temporary Services http://www.temporaryservices.org/ is a artist collective of three people based in Chicago, Illinois, USA. They have been collaborating on art projects, public events, publications, and exhibitions since 1998. On their web site, they state:"We champion public projects that are temporary, ephemeral, or that operate outside of conventional or officially sanctioned categories of public expression."
Temporary Services states a desire to not preference any type of activity or object as art, or any audience. They also work against the constructed link between aesthetics and ethics. They view art as activism, and carry on the traditions of situationalism.