The Propeller Fund is an awesome project launched this year by Gallery 400, UIC, threewalls (with funding through the Andy Warhol Foundation) which has made good on its promise to distribute $50,000 is funds to fifteen independant, self-organized, and Chicago-based art projects. The full list of winners is here, but I’ve trimmed down some of the language in the list below for super-brief read of where that $50k is headed:

1) The Storefront ($2,000)
A venue designed to support local artists working on sustainable projects.

2) The Lady Dissident Chicago Travel Auxiliary ($2,000)
10 new Chicago neighborhood posters by Alana Bailey and Anne Elizabeth Moore.

3) Nicholas Bastis, David Fleishman, and Brandon Pass ($2,000)
A temporary replica of a Frank Gehry building built in a vacant lot in the West Side of Chicago.

4) Todd Diederich and Sara Fagala ($6,000)
A ballroom ball; with pictures of Todd’s documentary project, a photo shoot, and a fashion line.

5) InCUBATE ($2,000)
Pilot Studies, a project investigating ways to organize and support small creative projects.

6) ChicagoRICAN ($2,000)
A project by Jorge Felix that addresses the production of Puerto Rican artists in Chicago.

7) Dorchester Project ($6,000)
A collaborative initiated by Theaster Gates that encourages community development and access to knowledge.

8) The Suburban and N55 ($2,000)
A stolen cairn will be replaced by a new cairn.

9) Kirsten Leenaars and Lise Haller Baggesen ($2,000)
Mutualism, a project exploring how social networks can be used as a model for curating.

10) The Alliance of Pentaphilic Curators (Jason Dunda and Teena McClelland, representatives) ($6,000)
Five funerals for imaginary deaths.

11) Erik Peterson, Benjamin Liu, Koobmeej Lee, Gary Kupczak, and Laura Thompson ($2,000)
A video game like Guitar Hero, but with an ancient Hmong musical instrument; called Qeej Hero.

12) Laurie Jo Reynolds, Stephen F. Eisenman, and Jeanine Oleson ($2,000)
Two projects (photo series, calling cards) and a series of public presentations on sexual violence, sex offender policies, and harm reduction.

13) Ben Russell and exhibiting artists ($2,000)
Eight experimental film/video screenings, each related to one of the planets.

14) Yet to be named advisory group facilitated by Daniel Tucker ($6,000)
A project-based documentary catalog on Chicago’s art history.

15) Tamalli Space Charros Collective: Omar Ureña Ximénez, Tamatz Juanes, Irradiador, The Aztlán Cardinal, La Pocha Catalana, Luis Humberto Valadez, Saúl Aguirre, Armando Morales, and Luis Muñoz ($6,000)
A business bringing multimedia art and Mexican cuisine into Chicago.

You can meet the winners next week at the awards celebration on Thursday, October 28th at 6PM @ UIC’s Great Space, 400 S. Peoria Street, 5th floor.