Dj Rae Chardonnay
saturday, september 28
TIME: 9:15-10:30pm
VENUE: West Stage. Midway Plaisance at South Ellis Ave.
Rae Chardonnay is on stage with her laptop in front of her and wearing a hat, sunglasses, and headphones with both hands raised pointing her index fingers forward.
Rae Chardonnay
Rae Chardonnay is an award-winning DJ, interdisciplinary artist, and cultural programs producer from the west side of Chicago. She is the founder of Black Eutopia, a segmented programming series that cultivates space for marginalized communities, and co-founder of the award-winning Party Noire, where joy for Black queer, trans, and gender-nonconforming people is centered.
As a space-maker, Chardonnay is committed to engaging communities which exist and intersect in the margins, and to dreaming of and building the liberated worlds in which we want to live. Using sound as the primary creative tool of expression and reimagination, Chardonnay has worked extensively as a leader and participant in solo and collaborative curatorial activations with University of Chicago’s CSRPC, South Side Home Movie Project, Museum of Contemporary Art, The Art Institute, Arts Alliance of Illinois, Threewalls, The Chicago House Music Festival, Apple, and others.
She has also opened for legendary talents such as Janelle Monae, Megan Thee Stallion, DJ Mike Dunn, Ron Carroll, DJ Spinna, Just Blaze, Cece Peniston, and DJ Heather, among others. She has been the recipient of several artistic residencies and grants, and she and her work have been highlighted in a variety of publications. She has a Bachelor’s in Arts Management from Columbia College and is the Education and Community Partnerships Manager at Steppenwolf Theatre.
The musicians:
Rae Chardonnay — turntables