Welcome to The Beautiful Cat, a window gallery in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood!
Situated between immigrant communities, The Beautiful Cat showcases the work of creatives who have connections to Chicago, with a focus on under-represented, under-resourced, and excluded artists, communities, and art forms. We don’t distinguish between art, craft, design, and popular music because these terms are used to reinforce colonial hierarchies. Why is painting valued more than embroidery? Why is music separated from sound art? Because of power dynamics that serve racial, capital, and gendered hierarchies.
We celebrate creativity in all its forms because creativity is essential to humanity. Every single person is creative, some have just had more opportunities to exercise that creativity. We hope that the work in our windows inspires you to individual and communal creative acts.
Where
Our gallery is located in the windows of 1070 W. Granville, at the northeast corner of Granville and Winthrop. We’re just a half block east of the Granville red line stop and almost two block west of Lake Michigan and the 157 Sheridan bus. Because we’re a window gallery, our work is on display 24/7.
We do not have an interior space open to the public, so we also do not have public bathrooms, but there are some in the restaurants and in Metropolis Coffee that surround our gallery. We are also two blocks west of Berger Park, which has a public bathroom in the Berger Park Cultural Center, as well as being a lovely place to stop and have a picnic or watch the lake.
Who
Meet our gallery staff!
EmPURRor Philippa Georgiou Augustus Iaponius Centaurus
arts patron, 5th degree black belt
A former street fighter, The EmPURRor is well versed in multiple forms of martial arts, so approach with caution!
Her Majesty does not wish to associate with the riff raff but will accept tributes of catnip- fresh nip, none of that dried dust.
Locutus of Blue
art critic extraordinaire, pâté connoisseur
Pampered prince and son of The EmPURRor, Blue manages the gallery with a firm paw and gimlet eye. He accepts tributes in the form of treats and butt pats.
Mari Miller
maker, curator, consummate tea drinker
Mari Miller is an experimental maker who blends art, craft, and design to create new art processes and materials. The backbone of their artistic practice is Chinese tea culture, cooking, and medicine. They use their arts skills to showcase other creatives’ work and to enhance their community organizing.
Quincy Bradford
sound artist, tinkerer, gallerist
Quincy Bradford is a sound artist and guitarist from Louisiana. He powers The Beautiful Cat with his technological acumen and long arms. His nickname is “Thumbs”, bestowed upon him by our bosses, the cats, for his ability to open a can of wet food.
Contact
Questions? Comments? Got a good pâté recipe to share? Reach out at BCatGallery [at] proton.me