The Fulton Street Collective
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                      How this whole thing started...


                      In the early 1990s, Anna Fermin and I were struggling singer-songwriters on the northside of Chicago, rehearsing in a corner room of a print-shop business owned by Don and Janeen (who also managed our budding musical careers).   We were the epitome of poor, downtrodden, and struggling artists.  One day Don and Janeen decided they wanted to leave the stress of Chicago, and relocated to the Pacific Northwest coast of Washington state. They gave their business to a “collective” of printers.


                      The printers business didn’t do very well and one day they informed Anna and I that we had to leave the very next month. By this time Anna was developing a popular fan base in Chicago with her unstoppable talent, in alt-country bands (AnnaBoy and Trigger Gospel), and I was turning my angst-ridden, heart and soul-wrenching songs into rock anthems and road-house dance parties (Fulton St. Saints, JLB). 

                      We didn’t want to jinx anything by leaving our sacred practice venue, so we put our heads together to figure out how to keep the space. We negotiated with the building owners (Industrial Council of Nearwest Chicago), which provides small businesses incubator environments in the neighborhood.

                      Anna suggested that we could create an environment geared towards artists and other creative people by purchasing the 2nd and 3rd floors. So we did.  We worked, mostly by ourselves, to completely gut the 2nd floor of the building (we whitewashed the walls with a spray painter that left us spitting out white paint still to this day).  We then put an ad in the newspaper for artists, and before long, the 2nd floor filled up, and so we expanded to the 3rd floor, which is now very active as well. 

                      Our Mission...


                      Our mission is to help artists thrive by providing support and resources in an incubator-like environment.  I believe that art and creativity are a necessary part of the balance of life and the health of the local and global communities.

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                      Joe
                      847-942-8956
                      joe@fultonstreetcollective.com

                       

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                      We Offer...

                      • 4 Levels of Membership, starting at $25 per month
                      • Various Classes, Workshops, and Seminars
                      • Free Websites for our members
                      • Gallery and event space for artists and performers
                      • Hosting of corporate and private parties/events
                      Fulton Street Collective | A community of creative talent | 2000 West Fulton Street, 2nd & 3rd Floors, Chicago, IL, 60612 | * FSC website and contents are copyright 2010 - Member content copyright of respective member. All rights reserved | Powered by MVI