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NON:op's Immersive Platform for Virtual Performance and Participation
volume 7:1, January 2026
Please join us as we investigate alternative futures through
music, art, poetry, performance, research, observation, and activism. Â
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January 2026: New Projects, New Partnerships
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TRUE MUSE ARTS
A Living Practice of Shared Creativity
Next Salon: Sunday, February 15, 5-9pm
Hi! I’m Linda Solotaire, Founder and Artistic Director of True Muse Arts, a teaching and performing arts company and home for mentoring, experimentation, and collaboration. As a performer, teacher, and collaborator working across music, theater, movement, and interdisciplinary performance, I am drawn to work that lives at the intersection of disciplines and communities, and to spaces where artists and audiences are not so clearly separated.
Beginning in 2014, True Muse’s work grew organically through workshops, performances, and cross-disciplinary projects. In 2019, True Muse Arts evolution gave rise to what has become our core public offering: the Second Sunday Salon Series — intimate, curated gatherings where musicians, poets, visual artists, dancers, and audiences come together as co-participants in a shared creative experience.
My own artistic lineage is inseparable from NON:op Arts and Humanities, an experimental, participatory arts organization founded by composer and sound artist Christophe Preissing. I was a performer and founding member of NON:op, and that work profoundly shaped my understanding of what art can be when communities are invited into the process — not just as audiences, but as contributors and collaborators. NON:op’s long-standing commitment to participatory, socially engaged work aligns deeply with the values that guide True Muse.
At its heart, True Muse Arts is part of a larger shift toward a more open, participatory, and human-centered arts culture — one about access, inclusion, and human connection, where people don’t just consume art, but help shape it. It’s no accident that True Muse is exploring collaborations with NON:op on projects such as Inventory of Lost Books. Their projects reflect a shared belief: that art can hold memory, amplify voices, and create spaces for reflection, dialogue, and collective presence.
True Muse is now entering an important new chapter. In 2026, we are formally incorporating as a nonprofit organization, as a mission-driven, community-centered cultural platform. And we are moving to a "floating" salon model, partnering with multiple venues across the city including Print Shop Live in Humboldt Park, Colvin House on the north side, and we are actively seeking a South Side venue partner. Our mission is simple and ambitious: to democratize access to the arts, to create meaningful platforms for artists of diverse backgrounds, and to build spaces where culture is not just presented, but shared.
 True Muse Arts is, at its core, an invitation: to artists, to neighbors, to audiences, to collaborators. It’s an invitation to step into a room where disciplines meet, where stories are shared, and where creativity is not something you watch from a distance, but something essential that we build together.
– LindaSunday February 15 from 5-9pm
Print Shop Live • 833 N Albany, Suite C, Chicago, IL 60622
Music: Singer-Songwriter Scott Wills • Art: Cara Winters
Words: NON:op - Inventory of Lost Books
Print Shop Live is wheelchair accessible.
For other accessibility requests please contact Tom at The Print Shop at 414.241.7517
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STRESS TEST at MOJO&MUSE!
A Performance Speakeasy at Watershed Art & Ecology
February 7, 2026, 6 - 9pm
Get ready to experience a night of magic and creativity at MOJO&MUSE: A Performance Speakeasy – where art comes to life! Presented by Guild Literary Complex, MOJO&MUSE is a performance speakeasy of art and community in the beautiful Watershed Art & Ecology space. Join us for an evening of special performances of dance, video, poetry, music, and more! Live entertainment and light refreshments will be provided.
 Christophe will perform parts one and two of STRESS TEST, a performance/video work created in collaboration with Matt Bodett. STRESS TEST constitutes a controlled, time-limited psycholinguistic exposure designed to examine participant response to escalating semiotic saturation, iterative verbal and sonic repetitions, oppositions, multiplications, proliferations, reorientations, and staged sensory withdrawal.In addition to Christophe, performers/performances include Kao Ra Zen, Marisela Tapia, Mark Nagy, Neil Jendon, Lucia Peters + Friends, Me'Chelle.
MOJO&MUSE IS FREE! Donations are Encouraged.
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[ NEW PROGRAM ]Â Equipment Sharing Program
TEMPORARILY ON HOLD
Do you need AV equipment for your next show or project,
but can't afford to purchase or rent it?
?
NON:op Arts and Humanities is now offering audio and video equipment and services to other small Chicago non-profit organizations and individuals with whom we share a vision and creative aesthetic. This high-quality gear—purchased with funding from DCASE's CARP grant—may be used for both in-person and live-stream productions. Equipment and services will be made available at a very reasonable rate and/or in exchange for equipment and resources that we do not have.
Click HERE or above for more information about this exciting new program
or contact non@nonopera.org
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[ PARTICIPATE ]Â 2026 Performances and Events Preview
Mark your calendars for the following 2026 performances and Events:
- Early 2026: Announcement of STN Commission call for proposals
- July-August 2026: Lost Words: Stacks and Sorting Room, parts 1 & 2 of a collaborative installation with book artist Amanda Love, Theatre Y
- Summer 2026: Season three of Listening Across Neighborhoods
- August 2026: Lost Words: Room 3 of a collaborative installation with book artist Amanda Love, Theatre Y
- September 2026 - May 2027: Lost Words, Room 4 of a collaborative installation with book artist Amanda Love, ClevelandÂ
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[ WOW ] Fundraising News!
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IMPACT THE ARTS AND HUMANITIES: JOIN THE NON:op BOARD!
NON:op is growing, and like many organizations coming out of the pandemic, we are growing with projects, installations, and performances. It's quite an exciting time for us! Are you savvy about one or more aspects of running a non-profit? Join our board of directors. Do you have a passion for planning engaging events and projects? Join our programming committee. For more information, contact Christophe at non [at] nonopera [dot] org. And to find out more about NON:op Arts and Humanities and our initiatives visit our WEBSITE.
• • •
Governing and Programming Board Positions
Do you believe in the work we are doing? If so, please contact non [at] nonopera [dot] org to find out how you can support NON:op as a Board member. NON:op is seeking creative, passionate, and inspired individuals to join our board of directors in one of the following roles:
Programming Committee
The programming committee meets monthly with the artistic director and is responsible for supporting current programming and devising and producing future programming and events.
Governing Committee
The governing committee is responsible for finances, governance, and legal matters in support of the organization and its programming. The governing committee meets once per quarter and is joined by members of the programming committee.
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 Volunteer, Intern, and Other OpportunitiesNON:op is seeking volunteers, interns, participants, assistants, artists, and all who have creative ideas and who would like to work with NON:op to implement a shared vision. Please contact Christophe at non [at] nonopera [dot] org if you would like to find out more and join us as we create an alternative future.
Click here to order and support NON:op and its artists. |
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Thank you for taking care of each other by staying indoors and practicing social distancing.
We hope you and yours are well and staying warm as we work to create an alternative future.
SHARE. INTERACT. COLLABORATE.
Christophe, Saba, Theo, Ja Nelle, Jason, and all of NON:op's creatives, staff, volunteers, and interns
NON:op is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
Please consider supporting NON:op's program initiatives, creatives,
and mission with a donation today.
All donations are tax deductible according to federal guidelines. Thank you. Â
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True Muse Arts is, at its core, an invitation: to artists, to neighbors, to audiences, to collaborators. It’s an invitation to step into a room where disciplines meet, where stories are shared, and where creativity is not something you watch from a distance, but something essential that we build together.
Conceived and created by NON:op composer and sound artist, Christophe Preissing, and Ohio-based book artist, Amanda Love, 
Christophe will perform parts one and two of STRESS TEST, a performance/video work created in collaboration with Matt Bodett. STRESS TEST constitutes a controlled, time-limited psycholinguistic exposure designed to examine participant response to escalating semiotic saturation, iterative verbal and sonic repetitions, oppositions, multiplications, proliferations, reorientations, and staged sensory withdrawal.
Volunteer, Intern, and Other Opportunities
