Today we’d like to introduce you to Rachel Lechocki and Andrew Rehs.
We are both natural artists and studied art in all throughout our schooling until we branched out into other career options as well. For Rachel, it was arts and yoga education and Andrew becoming a licensed therapist and woodworker.
Once we met, it was an immediate connection for creativity and community activism! Rachel had already been at the Zhou B Art Center for a couple of years, curating shows and working in groups, so we decided to collaborate and run a studio together. We began with kitschy, eclectic group art shows, curating up to 12 per year, just the two of us until we expanded as a multi-disciplinary collective with a few others. Once that happened, we gained a larger studio and so was birthed, [blnk] haus.
The intention on our name was to incorporate all of the disciplines and acknowledge that art can be __________ (blank) for every individual and we wanted to honor that and be an all-inclusive, safe space. The haus aspect of the name was to brand our Chicago location as our home, our OG, our main and first gallery spot, with plans on growing and bringing [blnk] to other cities with a need.
Since then [blnk] has become owned by founders, Rachel Lechocki and Andrew Rehs and moved to Logan Square, Chicago This was an area that Rachel’s dad grew up in and we they currently live in, so they were now able to service their own community and build upon that foundaton.
[blnk] haus gallery now showcases original urban contemporary art from solo shows to specially selected group shows, hosting up to 10 per year. The gallery also functions as an event and rental space and healing arts center.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has not been smooth, staying true to Chicago streets, it has been full of potholes (bumps) in the road, but we have overcome them or used those challenges as sincere learning opportunities to strengthen our internal practices.
To begin, after we were a collective for close to a year, it was clear some members struggled with the responsibility of running a gallery or simply wanted to work on their own artistic path, which we completely encourage. However, that is always hard when people you adore and work with need to move on and with that comes with huge decisions such as; do we keep going? Can we afford rent on our own? And so on.
We kept going! And only got so much stronger.
It was also a challenge running a community space out of an even larger community space that had its own rules and time restrictions. This was a major contributor towards our needing to move, which was a big undertaking in itself.
We also sometimes struggle with being mindful to be business and art minded, meaning as artists ourselves we look out for the artists’ best interest as well as having to remember to also keep the gallery as a business, a priority.
Lastly, to be transparent, it is just a very tough business to be in general. There are days you can’t help but feel like quitting would be easier or saving a lot of money would be amazing, but it wouldn’t feed our souls or be a big source of community empowerment for artists. We each still have our day jobs to maintain keeping the gallery open, but the plan is to one day have Rachel transition into full time running the gallery.
Like everything in life, it ebs and flows and we have learned to embrace that instead or resist.
[blnk] Haus Gallery – Chicago – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Specialization – Urban Contemporary Art and unique interdisciplinary events
Our warm, cozy and safe gallery space makes it easier for people to just wander on in and not feel insecure or scared to enter a gallery environment. We help people overcome those ‘pretentious’ stereotypes and also work so hard to make contemporary, original art affordable and accessible to all.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Winning ‘Best Gallery’ 2019 in Logan Square Chicago our first full year in that space!
Contact Info:
- Address: 3206 W Armitage
Chicago, IL - Website: blnkhaus.com
- Phone: 7084157226
- Email: blnkcollective008@gmail.com
- Instagram: @_blnkhaus
- Facebook: Blnk Haus
Suggest a story: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
