Founded by School of the Art Institute of Chicago alums J. Howard Rosier, Alex Wells Shapiro, James Stewart III, and Ian Wojcikiewicz, Exhibit B—a performance series sponsored by the Guild Literary Complex—pushes artists to think beyond the typical limitations of a reading and develop new ways to bring their work into the world. “We don’t want to tell people what to do, we just want to create a space for people to express themselves,” shared Rosier.

At Exhibit B, this means that writers experiment with new forms—poets turn their work into video essays—and artists who don’t traditionally exhibit at readings, like photographers, have a new outlet for their work. More than anything else, the founders want the shows to be accessible to all audiences in a way that readings typically haven’t been.