The Sundress Academy for the Arts (SAFTA) is pleased to announce the winners of this year’s VIDA fellowships, Génesis Mancheren Abaj and Gretchen Hasse, and the winner of our fall fellowship for Black and/or Indigenous Writers, Maurice Moore. These residencies are designed to give writers time and space to explore their creative projects in a quiet and productive environment.

“Resilience" by artist Gretchen Hasse was painted in 2017 and will be highlighted in a new Chicago Architecture Center walking tour.

I am beyond honored to announce that I have received an Esteemed Artist Award from the Individual Artist Program of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE), in relation to my robot project Waking Giants.

I believe the role of the artist in society is to help open up the possibility of looking at things differently, of helping people create new ways to be. When I feel adrift or helpless in the face of… everything, I try to remember this. It grounds me and gives me purpose. Waking Giants is, at its heart, about confronting and engaging the world we have created. It is about harnessing the energy of fear or anguish, and forging it into hope, into action.

No one person or one effort is enough, but by working together we can re-create our world.

The Columbia Chronicle reports on 2017's projects for the Mile of Murals.

After receiving the 3Arts Make A Wave grant in November 2021, I was interviewed by SXU News. This is a publication of Saint Xavier University, where I teach.

KILTER magazine is a collaboration of people in the Chicago Goth, Industrial, Punk, Deathrock, Underground, wierdo scene. They interviewed my about my webcomic, Freaks' Progress.

Voyage Chicago does interviews with artists where they send you a few curated questions, and then basically print whatever you write. I really enjoyed this process, and wrote a rather long article that touched on a lot of related issues facing cities and the country generally.

Kristin Summerson writes that "Gretchen Hasse’s web comic Freaks’ Progress tells the stories of unique characters against the black and white backdrop set in a place not-Chicago-but-Chicago-like. Hasse’s characters jump off of the pages of the comic, telling tales filled with harsh moments in their changing neighborhood."

My design was one of two chosen for the Rogers Park Business Alliance's ten-year Mile of Murals project along the Glenwood corridor.

In October 2016, I was chosen to be one of the artist residents in the inaugural session of the Field/Work Residency with the Chicago Artists Coalition.

The FIELD/WORK Residency is an educational program designed for artists wanting a deeper engagement in vital issues in artists’ professional development, critical feedback, and support in designing a pathway to progress with individual career goals.

Figure study is central to my work. I am the model coordinator for a weekly figure study session in Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood, where the atmosphere is relaxed and supportive, and we all learn from each other.

Every Wednesday I make art at Studio Day, a project run by AnySquared, all-volunteer collaborative and artistic network in Logan Square. People of all ages, disciplines and levels of experience come together to hang out, make art and hatch plans.

Mexican arts and culture program La Mezcladora 22 came to AnySquared Studio Day in October 2015 to interview participants for part of their feature on the Chicago Art Scene. AnySquared coverage starts at the 21 minute mark.

From November 2014 – a written interview where I talk about local artists who inspire me.

Written Interviews of the June 2014 ACTIVATE: Art in Alleys participating artists.

In June 2014, I created two comic banners for the ACTIVATE: Art in Alleys event put on by the Chicago Loop Alliance. See me at work in this video interview by Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism.

Audio interview discussing my work and influences.