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Legendary HotHouse celebrates 40 years as a leading arts and culture non-profit organization

On Saturday August 8 from 4pm to 7pm, The Center for International Performance and Exhibition doing business as HotHouse will host their BIG 40, a gala event marking four decades as a leading arts and culture organization.

Founded in 1986 by Marguerite Horberg in a loft in the west loop of Chicago, HotHouse has developed and operated two game-changing cultural centers.

The first opened its doors in Wicker Park in the early 1990's and set the bar for international programming as well as a home for creative improvised music.
Relocating to the South Loop in the late 1990's, the club doubled in size and welcomed 70,000 patrons a year to more than 500 annual events.

HotHouse gained national stature early on with its innovative programming and development of signature festivals such as Women of the New Jazz, The Chicago Flamenco Festival, Jazz en Clavé and the Chicago World Music Festival.
Many world-famous acts that would routinely pack their home country stadiums would perform in the more intimate HotHouse before a few hundred well initiated fans.

Since 2007, the non-profit has presented its award winning and iconic multi-disciplinary projects around the city and in Harbor Country, Michigan.
For its many years of service to the city, for developing employment and training opportunities in the arts for hundreds of employees, for its contributions to thousands of artists and for dedicated excellence in the arts, the CITY of Chicago will be honoring HotHouse at the event with a proclamation.

The non-profit organization has also been consistently recognized with local and national awards including BEST OF CHICAGO and CHICAGOAN OF THE YEAR,
The gala event on August 8 celebrates this rich history and profound service to the city.

“When we opened in the converted welfare office on Milwaukee Avenue, we had no idea the city would respond so enthusiastically to what we wanted to do. Prior to HotHouse, the choices for evening entertainment were limited to Beaux Arts western cannon programming, sports bars or church basements for lefty events. We were able to elevate non-English language and international artists to prime time spotlights while also promoting the many diverse non commercial voices in our city. It is thrilling to be able to celebrate all the twists and turns and bumps in the road over these many years,” said Horberg.

LIMITED SPACE IS AVAILABLE VIA TICKETS AT https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hothouse-40th-anniversary-celebration-tickets-1989961827394?aff=oddtdtcreator

DETAILS:
WHO: THE CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL PERFORMANCE AND EXHIBITION DBA HOTHOUSE
WHAT: THE BIG 40 ! GALA CELEBRATION OF THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF HOTHOUSE
PERFORMANCES, TOASTS, SILENT AUCTION, BUFFET AND CITY PROCLAMATION
Catered by Sinha
Beverages provided by Marz Brewery

ABOUT THE ARTISTS PERFORMING
CHINOBAY
For more than two decades, Chinobay has built a remarkable international career as a performer, composer, educator, and cultural ambassador. Rooted in the traditions of East Africa and shaped by experiences across more than 70 countries, his music creates meaningful connections between cultures while remaining deeply personal and authentic.
Whether performing with the high-energy Wamu Spirit Band, presenting the intimate solo concert Between Worlds, or leading educational residencies and workshops, Chinobay brings audiences into a shared experience of rhythm, story, and human connection.

His work has been presented at major festivals, performing arts centers, museums, universities, and community venues throughout North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and beyond.

EDWARD WILKERSON, JR. WITH PREYAS ROY
Edward Wilkerson Jr. is an internationally recognized composer, arranger, saxophonist, clarinetist, and educator based in Chicago, where he has been closely associated with the AACM, serving at one time as its president. He first came to prominence as a member of Khalil El’Zabar’s Ethnic Heritage Ensemble, participating in a number of recordings by the group. As founder and director of the cutting-edge octet 8 Bold Souls, and the 25-member Shadow Vignettes ensemble, Wilkerson has toured festivals and concert halls throughout the United States, Europe, Japan, and the Middle East. “Defender,” a large-scale piece for Shadow Vignettes, was commissioned by the Lila Wallace/Reader’s Digest Fund and featured in the 10th Anniversary of New Music America, a presentation of BAM’s Next Wave Festival. His music can be heard on over a dozen recordings, including two film soundtracks and the critically acclaimed albums Birth of a Notion, and 8 Bold Souls, both on his own Sessoms Records label.

PREYAS ROY
Preyas Roy is an accomplished, up and coming vibraphonist and marimba player. He started playing the mallets when he was about eleven and has been playing ever since. He came to Chicago to study at the University of Chicago, and soon after met his mentor, Sam Williams. Williams introduced Roy to street performing, and Roy soon became immersed in that improvisational space. He first played with Vincent Davis in 2011, performing a tribute to the late, great Baba Fred Anderson. Their ongoing weekly sessions began days later, and over the years, have included spectacular improvisors in Chicago’s creative and experimental music scene.

CONJUNTO is James Sanders’ long running project to unite his classical training and theory with the freedom of jazz improvisation, all grounded in the lively rhythms of the Caribbean: rumba, son, danzón, bolero and more. The result are performances that move audiences figuratively and literally, where moments of hushed intimacy are followed by joyous dancing. From Afro-roots to salsa to jazz, Conjunto is equally at home at a dance party, jazz club or festival stage.

HONOREES
At the celebration HotHouse will honor these people whom have made extraordinary contributions to arts and culture during our tenure: Gail Dee, Camile Odeh, the Crossroads Fund, Eric Ricks Dayna Calderon, Jaime Garza, Juan Dies, Santosh Issac, Nancy Myers and Ramon Marino