Tiny Desk
Washington DC, United States
WebsiteIntimate video performances, recorded live at the desk of NPR’s Bob Boilen.
Venue
James R. Thompson Center
Address
100 W Randolph St., Chicago, IL, 60601
Neighborhood
The Loop
Description
The Chicago Architecture Biennial is pleased to announce the participation of the James R. Thompson Center as a Cultural Partner and City Site for the fifth edition of the citywide exhibition, CAB 5: This Is A Rehearsal. CAB 5’s artistic team is led by the Chicago-based artist collective, Floating Museum. Hailed as one of Chicago’s postmodern architectural marvels, the Helmut Jahn-designed building will open to the public from September 21, 2023–through the end of the year and will host five exhibitions and site-specific installations made possible by Prime, Capri, and Google.
CAB 5 Contribution
Project Overview
Tiny Desk
In 2008, Bob Boilen, the host of NPR’s All Songs Considered initiated the first Tiny Desk Concert after struggling to hear the music at South by Southwest. Since its inception, Tiny Desk has hosted more than 1000 concerts and attracted more than 2 billion views on YouTube. This delightful transformation of a mundane workstation challenges the conventions of the intended function of designed objects, architectures, and infrastructures. Must form and function exist in reciprocity, or can inspiration emerge through a different relationship? The inclusion of Tiny Desk also references the floors of workstations as the rejuvenation of the Thompson Center occurs and raises questions about the kind of office monocultures that have, until recently, typified urban centers.