Links Hall

Links Hall’s mission is to encourage artistic innovation and public engagement by maintaining a facility and providing flexible programming for the research, development and presentation of new work in the performing arts. 

Links Hall is proud to be a home for independent, contemporary artists across all performance disciplines, at all stages of their careers. Founded in 1978 by three experimental choreographers (Bob Eisen, Carol Bobrow and Charlie Vernon), Links became a National Performance Network partner in 1998 and received a MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions in 2016. In April 2013, Links and musician/presenter Mike Reed created a new collaborative arts venue as the shared home of the for-profit Constellation and the non-profit Links Hall. Over 70% of Links Hall resident and presented artists identify as Black, Indigenous, or artists of color. 

Links serves hundreds of artists each year through residency programs, artist-curated festivals, co-presentations with self-producing artists, workshops, and low-cost studio rentals. According to one Chicago artist, “Links Hall matters because it’s quite easy as an artist to feel like you’re always asking for support and resources from the world around you. Links feels like a place that just gives those things willingly and not only invests in the artist but then reinvests in them over and over again.” As an incubator and service organization, Links Hall provides a community space and experimentation lab for diverse artists, disciplines, and audiences – this intersection is especially important for the City of Chicago, whose communities are often culturally and geographically segregated. 

Links Hall continues to grow and innovate, with a dual-focus on technology expansion and pay equity for artists and administrators. In 2021/2022 we completed an overhaul of our database, ticketing, and donation systems, and engaged the board and staff in a year-long Equity Audit and Systemic Allyship Training, led by Marc Bamuthi Joseph and Rika Iino of SOZO Vision. On this foundation, in 2022-23, Links is making a bold step to invest in its infrastructure and ongoing sustainability, prioritizing the growth and well-being of individuals that make up the Links Hall community.