DESTROY YOUR ART Is Back, and Here Are the Four Chicago Filmmakers Destined to Destroy

Would you create a film if you knew it would only be seen once, and then immediately destroyed, never to be seen again? Four Chicago filmmakers are saying yes to that, and they will be the centerpiece of the fifth ever DESTROY YOUR ART spectacle at the Music Box Theatre on September 26th.

DESTROY YOUR ART invites select filmmakers to make original short films and then obliterate them in front of the only audience to ever see them, giving artists the opportunity to create something impermanent and inviting audiences to experience something more intentional.

DESTROY YOUR ART was created by Rebecca Fons – currently the Director of Programming for the Gene Siskel Film Center – and Chicago filmmaker Jack C. Newell.

Click here for SCREEN’s scorching photos from last year’s DESTROY YOUR ART and the capacity crowd that descended upon the Music Box to enjoy it.

So who will be embarking on this singular and scintillating endeavor? This year’s participating artists include:

Michael Glover Smith

Ines Sommer

Richard Song

Blair St. George Wright

Get to Know the Creators of Destroy Your Art…

Rebecca Fons is Director of Programming at the Gene Siskel Film Center, a public program of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and serves as the Development and Programming Director for the historic Iowa Theater in her hometown of Winterset, IA. Rebecca previously served as Programming Director for FilmScene in Iowa City, IA; Director of Film at the John and Nancy Hughes Theater in Lake Forest, IL; and as Education Director for The Chicago International Film Festival for nearly a decade. Rebecca received her MA from Columbia College Chicago and BA from the University of Iowa.  

Jack C. Newell is a writer, director, producer, actor, and public artist. He is the co-creator of Destroy Your Art, and the co-creator of the public art project, The Wabash Lights and created The Second City Film School at The Second City. His feature film credits span genres from the comedies including Monuments, Open Tables, and Hope Springs Eternal to the documentaries, 42 Grams, How (not) to Build a School in Haiti, and America’s First. His films have screened theatrical in the US and internationally and have been featured at various film festivals, including the Austin Film Festival, Sidewalk Film Festival, Chicago International Film Festival, and have premiered on Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu.

Tickets and more information at destroyyourart.com and via Music Box Theatre.

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