Built Festival 2011 | Fest report + photo gallery

Built Festival 2011: Slide show

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  Live Graffiti at Built Fest on August 12th,2011.

  Photo: Cooper Link337.wk.BuiltFest01.jpg148985071
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  Built Festival in Bucktown on August 12th, 2011.

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  Local artist and Snack enthusiast Snacki's container at Built Fest on August 12th,2011.

  Photo: Cooper Link337.wk.BuiltFest03.jpg148985113
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  Installation at Built Fest on August 12th,2011.

  Photo: Cooper Link337.wk.BuiltFest04.jpg148985134
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  Built Fest in Bucktown on August 12th,2011

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  Built Fest in Bucktown on August 11th, 2011

  Photo: Cooper Link337.wk.BuiltFest06.jpg148985176
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  Live Graffiti at Built Fest in Bucktown on August 12th,2011

  Photo: Cooper Link337.wk.BuiltFest07.jpg148985197
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  The Pop Up Art Loops Container at Built Fest on August 12th,2011.

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  Keith Lemley installation at Built Fest

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  Festivities at Built Fest in Bucktown on August 12th,2011.

  Photo: Cooper Link337.wk.BuiltFest10.jpg1489852510
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  Fire Dancer at Built Fest on August 12th,2011

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  Installation at Built Fest on August 12th,2011

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  Fire Dancers perform at Built Festival in Bucktown August 12th,2011.

  Photo: Cooper Link337.wk.BuiltFest14.jpg1489853314

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Live Graffiti at Built Fest on August 12th,2011.

Photo: Cooper Link

I'm not trying to be smart or mean or even snobby, but having popped over to the Built Festival this past Friday night, I can safely say it is still building, not quite built. But I can also say that the concept is fundamentally great and Chicagoans should hope founder Tristan Hummel keeps it up, because it has a lot going for it.

I loved the vibe created by the the transformed space, a pop-up arts district made from shipping containers and kept extra loose by the availability of PBR, decent live music (festival stalwart White Mystery was on the bill somewhere) and a fairly pleasant summer night—all in walking distance of Wicker Park's red zone. Built had that essential ephemeral feeling that makes quirky street festivals extra fun—and I assume it is part of what made Art on Track (a one-night annual event which placed art in a Loop-circling CTA train) a bit of a hit.

I didn't mind the fairly low-key sponsors, Fuze and AllSaints (whose pop-up shop closed just as I was heading in), so much as I wanted more from what was inside the shipping containers. At the end of the day, it's really the art that has room to grow. I got a kick out of T.A.R.T.'s gross, zombie-inspired GMO (Genetically Modified Organism), enjoyed some playful repurposing of taxidermy, minimalist light sculptures and the collage art of Baltazar Castillo. And I didn't mind some of the playful installations, such as a restaurant-themed container serving a made-to-order multi-course art meal. But nothing really blew me away. Still, Built was an admirable effort and hopefully just another step forward for Hummel and his cohorts.