Public Works

11/03/2026

Like your favorite corner bar, but for Art & Design.

Follow us for all things art, design, music, and everything in between. Our space is dedicated to bringing together Chicago’s creative community through exhibitions, events, and shared experiences.

Come for the art. Stay for the people.

Find us in Wicker Park, Chicago✌🏼
📍2141 W. North Ave

11/03/2026

10/29/2026

TOMORROW PLAY [010] — HALLOWEEN EVE SHOW
Friday, Oct. 30th.🕸️

Join us tomorrow for a Halloween night of house, techno, and the spaces in between, with Chicago selectors Madeline, Marinh, and Mastered Key.

Costumes encouraged!🩸

key is a DJ and architectural designer originally from outside New Orleans, Louisiana, now based in Chicago. Her sound is structured from the rhythms of Southern club music and the driving energy of techno, building a bridge between electro, syncopated grooves, atmospheric trance, and UK garage. Grounded in rhythm but never tied to one formula, her sets move between deep cuts, unexpected textures, and moments of tension and release. Always evolving, she approaches the dance floor as a space to be designed intentionally, constructing a combination of sounds and rhythms that keep bodies moving and emotions running high. 

Join us tomorrow Friday, Oct. 30th
madeline
Marinh (Michael)
key

Doors 8PM
Show 8:30PM
18+ event
$20 suggested donation
Drinks & NA options available
RSVP link in bio🙃

10/28/2026

🕸️PLAY [010] — HALLOWEEN EVE SHOW this Friday, Oct. 30th.🕸️

Join us this Friday for our Halloween Eve show as we return for our tenth installment with Madeline, Marinh, and Mastered Key. A night of house, techno, and the spaces in between🌌

Costumes encouraged! 🩸

Based in Chicago, Marinh (Michael) focuses on weaving together intricate rhythms and textures creating his psychedelic sound. Classically trained, he has a purist approach to dance music focussing on maintaining a steady groove and intention through his sets at Smartbar since 2023.

Join us Friday, Oct. 30th
madeline
Marinh (Michael)
key

Doors 8PM
Show 8:15PM
18+ event
$20 suggested donation
Drinks & NA options available
RSVP link in bio🙃

🍻To keep the party going, we will have refreshments supported by our friends over at Spiteful Brewing Spiteful Brewing

10/27/2026

PLAY [010] HALLOWEEN EVE SHOW this Friday, Oct. 30th 🕸️🖤

Join us for a Halloween Eve night of hypnotic rhythms, deep grooves, and late-night electronics with Chicago selectors Madeline, Marinh, and Mastered Key.

Costumes encouraged🩸

For our tenth installment, we welcome Madeline madeline, a Chicago-based artist exploring the sensual corners of electronic music. Equipped with a bag lovingly collected over a decade of hosting radio on WNUR 89.3FM and a vinyl/digital technique honed while working at Gramaphone Records, their expansive DJ sets are rooted in the vocals, acid, and jack of Midwest house and techno. As a producer, Madeline uses sultry, layered vocals and stripped back productions to infuse pop songwriting structures with a deep house sensibility. They are a resident DJ and the curator of Statement Piece at Smartbar since 2023.

Join us thus Friday, Oct. 30th🩸
madeline
Marinh (Michael)
key

Doors 8PM
Show 8:30PM
18+ event
$20 suggested donation
Drinks & NA options available
RSVP link in bio🙃

🍻To keep the party going, we will have refreshments supported by our friends over at Spiteful Brewing Spiteful Brewing

10/14/2026

PLAY [010] HALLOWEEN EVE SHOW
Friday, Oct. 30th 🕸️

We’re hosting a special Halloween Night with hypnotic rhythms, deep grooves, and the darker + harder sounds of the underground with Chicago selectors Madeline, Marinh, and Mastered Key 🌌

Costumes encouraged🖤

Madeline madeline is a Chicago-based DJ and producer exploring the sensual side of electronic music. With over a decade of experience at WNUR 89.3FM and Gramaphone Records, their sets draw from the vocals, acid, and jack of Midwest house and techno. Their productions blend sultry, layered vocals and pop songwriting with stripped-back deep house. Since 2023, they have been a Smartbar resident and curator of Statement Piece.

is a Chicago-based Marinh weaves intricate rhythms and textures into a psychedelic sound. Classically trained, his purist approach to dance music emphasizes steady grooves, intention, and hypnotic movement.

key Originally from outside New Orleans and now based in Chicago, Mastered Key is a DJ and architectural designer whose sound bridges Southern club rhythms, techno, electro, atmospheric trance, and UK garage. Her sets blend syncopated grooves, unexpected textures, and tension and release, approaching the dance floor as an intentionally designed space for movement and emotion.

Join us Friday, Oct. 30th
Doors 8PM
Show 8:15PM
18+ event
$20 suggested donation
Drinks & NA options available
RSVP link in bio🙃

🍻To keep the party going, we will have refreshments supported by our friends over at Spiteful Brewing Spiteful Brewing

09/12/2026

PLAY [009] Friday, Sept 25th🎛️🎛️
For our ninth installment, we’re switching things up.

PLAY is partnering with Night Beams and visuals by Chicago’s iconic analog video collective VIDEOWASTE for a special evening centered around live electronic music, improvisation and mostly modular synth jams. Stepping outside our usual format, the night brings together four Chicago artists working across industrial, beatmaking, dub, ambient and experimental sound.

Chris Oquist Chicago-based composer and multi-instrumentalist whose music maps the space where things change and stand still at the same time. Working with synthesizers, drone machines, field recordings, and acoustic instruments, he triangulates electronic music, classical, and sound art - pushing each toward something warmer and more human than the instruments alone suggest.

Nathan Koch’s (OVC) long-running repository for all things dub-influenced, from early dub techno + house to the slow, heavy sounds of today. His new EP Bliss Attractor brings together cloud rap, dub + deconstructed club.

B4Lasers Chicago beatmaker, producer + DJ rooted in sample-based hip-hop, soulful grooves + beatmaking culture, blending dusty textures and rare grooves with raw live instrumentation

TH Inc TH Inc explores sound and ideas from the subconscious brought to the foreground, drawing from their love of early industrial music. Sonic resonances made of flesh and word mesh with metal and synthetics to create new experiences.

🎟️Free raffle included to win a gift certificate to Artifact Records

Join us Friday, Sept 25th
Doors 8PM
Show 8:15PM
18+ event
$20 suggested donation
Drinks & NA options available
RSVP link in bio🙃

🍻To keep the party going, we will have refreshments supported by our friends over at Spiteful Brewing Spiteful Brewing

08/27/2026

Join us TOMORROW for PLAY [008] 🎛️🎛️

An ongoing series for electronic and experimental sound — DJs, live sets, and TouchDesigner visuals created by Chicago’s underground.

SUR claysur is an American techno DJ, producer, and organizer from Chicago. He has thrown parties questioning the connection between our communities and ourselves, space and sound.

PLAY [008] featuring sets by:
Kevin Pearce (live) + visuals
Barba
claysur

Doors 8PM
Show 8:30PM
18+ event
$20 suggested donation
Drinks & NA options available
RSVP link in bio🙃

🍻To keep the party going, we will have refreshments supported by our friends over at Spiteful Brewing Spiteful Brewing

08/26/2026

Barba is a Chicago-based DJ/producer delivering hypnotic, groovy, and driving techno built for the dancefloor.

Growing up on the southeast side of Chicago, barbuhh became deeply embedded in the city’s underground house and techno nightlife, developing their sound through consistent engagement with the dancefloor culture while also drawing influence from Detroit and Minneapolis.

Their sets are dancefloor-focused, centering on movement and progression, built around carefully selected tracks and dynamic mixing. Balancing hypnotic, groove-driven atmospheres with heavier, more driving material, barbuhh focuses on maintaining energy and continuity across the floor. barbuhh has performed at venues including Smoke & Mirrors, Smartbar, and Podlasie Club, as well as various underground events in Chicago and beyond.

Join us for PLAY [008] this FRIDAY AUGUST 28TH featuring:
Kevin Pearce
Barba
claysur

A night of dark, hypnotic techno & live TouchDesigner visuals by Chicago’s underground. Join us for our 8th installment of this series🖤
Doors 8PM
Show 8:30PM
18+ event
$20 suggested donation
Drinks & NA options available
RSVP link in bio🙃

🍻To keep the party going, we will have refreshments supported by our friends over at Spiteful Brewing Spiteful Brewing and Mijenta Tequila Mijenta Tequila