About

Launched in 2015 by Sam Lewis and Jonathan Woods, Dark Matter began as a monthly performance series presenting music that launched from hip-hop but looked beyond it to what’s next in Black music and video. The series culminated in an annual festival called the AfroFuturist Weekend - a three-day celebration of the expansive and interdisciplinary concept of AfroFuturism. After presenting the series for several years, the curators recognized that many of the emerging artists they presented - all crossing boundaries among several genres and mediums - would benefit from more sustained engagement with Elastic. They needed multiple opportunities to present their work in our space, to use the space for workshops, rehearsals, and recording, and also the benefit of our extensive network of artist/curators, many of whom organize performance events throughout the city and beyond. In 2019, we launched the Dark Matter Residency for emerging, Chicago-based artists, for whom we offered those opportunities. In 2022, we expanded AfroFuturist Weekend to five days. In 2023 we revived the monthly Dark Matter Series, bringing the Residents together with mid-career and legendary artists from across Chicago and around the world.