Aay Preston-Myint

Aay Preston-Myint has worked diligently for many years to build his thriving fine-art practice, but he's also devoted a tremendous amount of energy to collaborative projects that have improved the quality of life in Chicago for his fellow makers, and queer artists in particular. As one of the founding organizers of Chances, a series of dance parties, Aay helped to create a nightlife space where it was cool and safe to be both weird and queer,  fostering community and funding creativity with grant money raised from the proceeds. As a partner in No Coast, a print-focused collaborative, an Editor of the arts and literary journal Monsters and Dust and an organizer of the Chicago Art Book Fair,  he's learned valuable lessons about management and communication. We discussed the highlights (and a few low moments) from his multi-faceted career, and discussed strategies for letting go of criticality and getting in touch with the outside world- a tall order for introverts.