Chicago's Redmoon Theater to Close After 25 Years

Chicago's Redmoon Theater has just announced -- somewhat unexpectedly -- that it will be closing after 25 years in the Windy City.

"Dear Friend,

It is with great regret that the leadership of Redmoon informs you that we are closing our doors.

It has been an honor to serve the City of Chicago for the past 25 years. We have been blessed to work in and with over 40 of Chicago's 77 official neighborhoods and to bring our unique brand of spectacle to some of our finest institutions; to many of the city's most revered public sites; and most importantly to some of its most overlooked neighborhoods.

Redmoon has collaborated with some of the best our city has to offer and been a part of the development of the best the city has yet to see. We've had the honor to work with upwards of 10,000 artists of varying disciplines and backgrounds, many of whom were emerging artists who trained at Redmoon and went on to fulfill and sustain practices outside our walls. We are proud of our effort and grateful for the opportunities.

Our core mission was to bring massive, unexpected free art to public spaces - to bring people together across difference in acts of momentary and meaningful celebration. From the Fire Festival in recent years to some of our earliest outdoor work, our dream was to create a new kind of urban ritual.

There is no funding model for this civic and social artistic vision. We have tried to create new models. From our indoor parties and events, to our Redmoon For Hire rental business, to our new building's event venue business, we've innovated new models to support our unique artistic vision. But, quite simply and quite sadly - our innovations haven't been able to keep up with our civic goals.

We apologize to anyone this unexpected closure has inconvenienced. Please know that we do not take this decision lightly or without ardent effort to conclude differently.

To those who supported us, we are endlessly grateful. To those who enjoyed us, we are pleased to have added to your lives. To those we served, to those who were touched or moved or perhaps even inspired, it is to you we have the greatest debt. You provided meaning to our mission and purpose to our work.

Our consolation at this sad moment is that Redmoon is bigger than this non-profit institution. It is a spirit that survives us. It lives in you, our patrons and partners. It is a memory sown into each of the sites that have hosted us. Most of all, we are consoled that Redmoon's mission to celebrate and uplift community is a shared concern powering amazing, if under-recognized, activity all over this great city.

With gratitude,

Redmoon"

Over the past 24 years, Redmoon has become a valued Chicago institution with its high profile collaborations, vibrant outdoor performances, and dynamic community and educational programming. Redmoon's site-specific performances have opened in Millennium Park, animated the façade of the Museum of Contemporary Art, commemorated the groundbreaking of the Modern Wing of the Art Institute and brought tens of thousands of spectators to the banks of the Chicago River. Redmoon has also brought its work to the parks and streets of Chicago's most underserved neighborhoods, using spectacle to bridge differences and transform the ways that people see and understand public spaces.

Since 1990, Redmoon has performed for more than 380,000 people in 49 different neighborhoods, and around the globe in Holland, Ireland, Australia, Brazil, China, Japan and France. In its 57,000 square foot facility in Pilsen, Redmoon conducts large-scale indoor spectacles and private events, and offers structured, skills-based internships and mentoring opportunities to emerging young artists.

Photo Credits: Evan Barr, Katja Heineman, Sean Williams, Christina Noel, Jon Sall and Al Zayed.

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