Jeanette Andrews
Performance and Residency at the IAO
January, 2017
The IAO is pleased to host Chicago-based illusionist Jeanette Andrews.
During her time at the IAO, Jeanette will research and develop further scent components for her practice. The residency will culminate in an intimate performance.
Nationally hailed as “an inspiration,” Jeanette Andrews specializes in creating interactive sensory illusions, possessing a contemplative take on the art of the impossible that will leave you enthralled and enchanted.
As Jeanette herself puts it: “My research in the past two years has been centered on development of scent-based interactive illusions. I am excited to develop work within this conceptual framework during my residency with The Institute for Art and Olfaction. Joining scent together with interactive illusions provides an opportunity to explore new areas with my audiences, such as personal memories and stories, concepts in synesthesia and extrasensory perception, and deeply embedded ideas of time and place. Scent excites me, it inspires me. I am in love with its inherently mysterious qualities, shifting ephemeral nature and find it is a great pairing with the also temporal medium of magic. I adore diving into the science, anthropology and the deeply amazing aspects of scent, and bringing these ideas to my audience’s attention.”
Join Jeanette as she presents an intimate evening exploring magic through scent. Her performance – ‘Thornapple’ – will be followed by a meet and greet, with a limited audience of only 26 people.
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ABOUT JEANETTE ANDREWS
Jeanette Andrews is a contemporary illusionist and artist who specializes in creating interactive sensory illusions, possessing a contemplative take on the art of the impossible.
Combining a lifetime of craft with influences not typically seen in magic performances such as interactive performance art, immersive theater, quantum physics, and philosophy, Jeanette invents a unique take on this ancient art form. A fascination with sensory perception led Andrews to be named a 2014 Escape to Create artist-in-residence, and she is the only magician worldwide known to have been named to any artist’s residency. There, she developed Thresholds, an immersive performance of sensory illusions. In 2016, the work was presented by the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago to a standing-room crowd.
Andrews has given over 850 performances across the United States at museums, theaters and universities, amongst others, and lectures across the U.S. on the nature of illusions. She specializes in working with arts organizations, including works with the Birmingham Museum of Art and Chicago History Museum and commissions from The City of Seaside, FL and the Chicago Loop Alliance. She was recently named a High Concept Labs Sponsored Artist and has been awarded grants from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and The Awesome Foundation.
Far more intellectual than pulling the proverbial rabbit out of a hat, Andrews uses sensory anomalies and scientific oddities to bridge everyday life to a special, heightened world. Illusion is Ms. Andrews’ life’s work and her performances have been praised by PBS, The Daily Mail, the Chicago Tribune, NewCity and the “Best of Chicago” by the Reader.
Learn more at jeanetteandrews.com