Shir Ende (she/her) is a Chicago-based artist and educator. She received her BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and her MFA from the University of Illinois Chicago. She has created performances for the Chicago Architecture Biennial at the Stony Island Arts Bank; Inverse Performance Art Festival at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and the Momentary in Arkansas; as well as Patient Info and Roman Susan in Chicago. She has exhibited at the University of Illinois Springfield, Riverside Art Center, Hyde Park Art Center, Western Exhibitions, Comfort Station, and Gallery 400. Ende has participated in residencies and programs at High Concept Labs, the Chicago Artists Coalition, and the Alex Brown Foundation in Des Moines, Iowa. She received an Individual Artist Support Grant from the Illinois Arts Council and was named a Newcity Breakout Artist in 2022. She currently teaches at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Loyola University Chicago.
Statement
My work consists of performances, videos, prints, and drawings that propose our bodies can become material to build architecture. I’ve created a notational system of “architectural movements”– a choreography to produce architecture. Architecture often functions as a choreographer; its structural components create pathways and obstacles that dictate how our bodies navigate space. My practice repositions choreographers as architects, enabling them to shape environments by directing movements that define space.
Read Newcity Breakout Artists Profile
Read a review of “not to scale” at Heaven Gallery on Chicago Artist Writers
Listen to interview with Elliot Doughtie and LangerOverDickie on Bat at Sports
