AUX provides administrative support to help independent artist-run initiatives realize their work. We apply what we have learned as an artist-led nonprofit to assist others through fiscal sponsorship, grant writing, project management, and offering space for cause-oriented gatherings. AUX operates on a sliding-scale, project-by-project basis.
Reach out if you are interested in working together! Projects should align with Roman Susan’s mission to celebrate and share the work of artists in the Great Lakes region. For fiscal sponsorship, projects must meet W.A.G.E.-level minimum fees for presenting artists.
With our Rogers Park neighbors at PO Box Collective, we are acting as fiscal sponsors for their expanding efforts. With 6018North, we’re learning about our surrounding neighborhoods, local sustainability, and the arts infrastructure of Chicagoland. As a fiscal sponsor for Protected by Invisible Fence, we support the 2024-2025 Chicago Cultural Center residency of artist and choreographer Ginger Krebs, and 2026 performances at MCA Chicago. We are acting as a thought partner and loaning some gear to help Storefront Stories & Projections start something new in Southwest Michigan. We contribute to community efforts for The Visualist with weekly event research. We are helping YXJB work toward the second edition of ENROUTE for Spring 2027. We are a fiscal sponsor for boundary, an artist-run project space on the South Side. We are a fiscal sponsor for Cultivator, an artist-run project in Grundy County. We are acting as a fiscal sponsor for The Other Shore, a new work-in-progress by SK Kerastas. We are proud to maintain the online archives of Performance Response Journal. In the past, we’ve organized gatherings with FRUTAS, provided equipment for the Jammy Hands Jam Band, provided equipment for community screenings by The Kidler, produced garments for Synapse Arts, provided space for Queer Trans Sit, relocated artworks with 062 to preserve and celebrate the creative legacy of Thomas Kong, helped build prairie platforms for the Chop Wood Carry Water residency, been the fiscal sponsor of Stitch x Stitch with support from Illinois Humanities, and facilitated a grant for The Back Room with support from The Propeller Fund.
The animation here was created by Gwyneth Zeleny Anderson to commemorate the start of the AUX program. Gwyneth was one of the Roman Susan directors in our early stages of learning how non-profiting worked for us. AUX is partially supported by grants from the Illinois Arts Council Agency; Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation; Richard H. Driehaus Foundation; and Reva and David Logan Foundation.