On View February 21 - March 15, 2026
Opening Reception Sunday, February 22nd, 1-4 pm
Choreographic Place is an exhibition program presented by Bridge, premiering at the Evanston Art Center, that explores the evolving relationships between dance, sculpture, movement, written choreography, and civic space through the framework of William Forsythe’s notion of “choreographic objects”. Bridge collective members Michelle Kranicke, David Sundr,y and Michael Workman seek to expand the definition to architectural or sculptural forms designed not simply to occupy space, but to shape how bodies move, and behaviors may be regulated within it, how choreography is written and read, and how movement is negotiated collectively in shared environments.
Developed in collaboration with architect David Sundry and Zephyr director Michelle Kranicke, Choreographic Place positions the large-scale sculptural forms of Sundry's installations as both stand-alone artworks and active performance environments that prompt, constrain, and inspire new ways of moving. Over the past two decades, Sundry, working closely with Kranicke, has produced a series of architectural-scale constructions that restrict, restrain, and otherwise challenge the body’s navigation through space. These objects, often mistaken for stage sets, are in fact sculptural installations whose fullmeaning emerges only through interaction with performers, choreographers, and audiences alike.
The exhibition showcases the breadth of Sundry’s practice through a gallery-wide installation created specifically for theEvanston Art Center. The construction incorporates aspects of Sundry’s practice, showcasing the work as a visually compellingart object while tracing its development as a collaborator in choreographic creation. The installation is supported by 2D architectural drawings, process materials, and documentation of previous constructions and their relationship to performance and viewer interaction.
Additionally, Michael Workman presents written choreography conceived as an instructional text to guideand challenge visitors in how to negotiate the environments themselves. Choreographic Place also features restaged andnewly developed movement works by Zephyr, associated artists, and partner companies. Conceived as both a choreographicand civic research platform, Choreographic Place serves as a site for structured experiments in which dancers, musicians, writers, and the public explore how spatial constraints, sculptural interventions, and textual prompts can generate new improvisational vocabularies and shared embodied experiences.
Choreographic Place also launches Instructions for Living, a folio of performance scores by Workman, with this section created in dialogue with Kranicke and Sundry, serving as both an archive and a public tool for movement-based exploration.
David Sundry is a licensed architect and builder. He is the founder and president of Triple O Construction and O Group Inc, its partnering architecture studio. His buildings have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Chicago Magazine, ChicagoSocial, and Better Homes and Gardens. His renovation of a historic 1951 convent designed by Belli & Belli was part of the exhibition Outside the Box: Modern and Contemporary Houses presented at the Riverside Arts Center. Sundry is co-directorof SITE/less performance space. Additional commissions include an experimental music and performative sound sculptureinstallation at Augustana Lutheran Church and a steel-fabricated information kiosk in Perez Plaza. His writing has been published in the journal Bridge, NFP, where he serves as architectural editor.
Michelle Kranicke is the artistic director of Zephyr and co-director of SITE/less performance space. Awards andcommissions for her choreography, her curatorial practice, and Zephyr performance projects include artist residencies at Djerassi Artist Ranch and Yaddo, a commission by the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, anartist residency at Defibrillator Gallery, an artistic associate and curatorial residency at Links Hall, and a ChicagoDancemakers Forum Lab Artist Award. In 2019, she was named one of Chicago’s 50 Players in New City. Michelle’s writing has been published in the Journal for Dance Education and Bridge, NFP, where she serves as dance editor.
Michael Workman is an artist, writer, reporter, and sociocultural critic whose bylines have appeared in the Chicago Tribune, Guardian US, Newcity, WBEZ Chicago Public Radio, and many other national and international publications. He is also the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Bridge, NFP. His choreographic writing has been included in Propositional Attitudes, an"anthology of recent performance scores, directions and instructions" published by Golden Spike Press, and Perfect Worlds: Artistic Forms & Social Imaginaries, a 3-volume series released by StepSister Press. He is a 2025 Illinois Arts CouncilCreative Projects grant recipient, a Rabkin Foundation travel grant recipient, and the Fall 2025 Joan and Peter Hood Artist-in-Residence at the Allerton Park & Retreat Center in Monticello, Illinois.
GALLERY HOURS & VISITOR INFORMATION
This exhibition will be held in the First Floor Gallery of the Evanston Art Center (EAC). Masks are optional but strongly recommended for students, visitors, and staff.
Gallery Hours
Monday–Thursday: 9am–6pm
Friday: 9am–5pm
Saturday–Sunday: 9am–4pm
HOW TO PURCHASE ARTWORK
Artwork sale proceeds benefit both the artist and the Evanston Art Center. If you are interested in purchasing artwork on display, please contact Emma Rose Gudewicz, Director of Development and Exhibitions, at [email protected] or (847) 475-5300 x 102.
This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council through federal funds provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Image Credits (L to R): Padgett and Company, Michael Workman, and Padgett and Company