Monthly Archive for May, 2026

5-/12-6/26 Chicago Sign & Symbols / Exhibition & Zine Release

Published on May 10, 2026 Closed
May
15
6:30 pm

Chicago Sign & Symbols Issue 3 release party: Friday. 5/15, 6:30-8 pm
Quimby’s Bookstore, 1854 W. North Ave, Chicago

Chicago Sign & Symbols: Featuring the work of Lisa Glenn Armstrong and Atlan Arceo-Witzl
Exhibition runs through June 26, daily 12-6

Join us Friday 5/15 for the release of Chicago Signs and Symbols Volume 3 featuring an interview with Quimby’s alumni Echo Elise González and works submitted by Nick Marzullo, Lya Finston, Maddie Vaccaro, Scott McGaughey and printing by Raeann Van Zee of Bovine Press.

In this exhibition Lisa Glenn Armstrong and Atlan Arceo-Witzl of the zine Chicago Signs and Symbols bring together protest posters, publications, signage reference books, and community workshop outcomes from an event held at Hoofprint back in December.

Chicago Signs and Symbols is a collaborative zine project made under the model of DIT (do-it-together) that uses Chicago’s unique signs to explore the cultural indicators of our social realities and what can be understood about Chicago’s past, present, and future through semiotics.

Lisa Glenn Armstrong is a Chicago-based designer, musician, and educator whose work explores the shifting boundaries between emergent technologies and traditional print processes, treating both as living systems rather than fixed tools. Collaboration is central to her approach, building frameworks that prioritize collective authorship, shared inquiry, and community engagement. Her work often unfolds as an open-ended process, where outcomes are shaped through participation.

Atlan Arceo-Witzl is a Mexican-American visual artist, creator, and educator based in Chicago. He is driven by a foundational urge to draw, working to redefine midwestern identity and place as a hybrid ancient-contemporary-nowness. Being a second generation printmaker and a third generation educator influences his use of graphic forms in the relief print tradition while also instigating a curiosity in print process and ephemera. He is intrigued by everyday rituals, icons, symbols, totemic objects, communication, and translation.

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Pay what you can afford in person or via Venmo.
Suggested: $10
Venmo: @quimbysbookstore
Please include “Sign and Symbols” in the note!

Your generous donation directly supports artist honorariums and ensures the continuation of this program. We are so grateful for your support of local creators, Quimby’s Bookstore, and DIY culture—we truly couldn’t do it without you!

Your generous donation directly supports artist honorariums and ensures the continuation of this program. We are so grateful for your support of local authors, publishers, creators, Quimby’s Bookstore, and DIY culture—we truly couldn’t do it without you!

5/30 After Hours with The Ground Is Uneven

Published on May 10, 2026 Closed
May
30
6:30 pm

After Hours with The Ground Is Uneven: Th. 5/28, 6:30-8 pm
Quimby’s Bookstore, 1854 W. North Ave, Chicago

The Ground Is Uneven is run by Editor and Creative Writer Adam Kaz in collaboration with Art Director in collaboration with Art Director Grimm Shapfel. Justin Wilde  served as the art director for the first issue. 

Sporting a highly visual format, The Ground is Uneven presents evocative short stories paired with striking illustrations. Adam developed much of the early content, manages the magazine’s web presence, and edits all submissions.

After Hours will feature this stacked roster of readers from the pages of The Ground is Uneven, an open mic, and a live interview with the editor on their process!

Adam Kaz (he/him) is a Chicago-based writer, critic, marketing professional, and editor-in-chief of The Ground Is Uneven, an arts and literary journal. His fiction has appeared in Flash Fiction Magazine, Milwaukee Avenue Messenger, Fabula Argentea, literally stories, The Ground Is Uneven, MoonPark Review, Poetries in English Magazine, and Maudlin House.

Amrit Sooch (she/her) is a Chicago-based poet whose work brings awareness to women’s health. Her poetry collection Pain & Paper was published in 2024, and her work is forthcoming in The Ground Is Uneven.

Jon Murphy (he/him) is a Chicago-based writer of copy by day and fiction by night/lunch break. He’s a proud contributor to The Ground is Uneven.

Maranda Raskin (she/her) is a writer and food systems policy professional based in Chicago. She runs a neighborhood writing group that self-publishes an annual zine just for fun. Ask her about it!

After Hours is a production of Taylor Thornburg in partnership with Quimby’s!

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Pay what you can afford in person or via Venmo.
Suggested: $10
Venmo: @quimbysbookstore
Please include “After Hours” in the note!

Your generous donation directly supports artist honorariums and ensures the continuation of this program. We are so grateful for your support of local creators, Quimby’s Bookstore, and DIY culture—we truly couldn’t do it without you!

Your generous donation directly supports artist honorariums and ensures the continuation of this program. We are so grateful for your support of local authors, publishers, creators, Quimby’s Bookstore, and DIY culture—we truly couldn’t do it without you!