2026 artists

Sharkey (Sara) Zalek is a transdisciplinary artist, independent producer, and curator. Rooted in physical investigations of trauma, resilience, and transformation, their work is intimate, raw, and poetic. Drawing from a deep well of creative exploration, they teach, co-lead, and facilitate environments which encourage thoughtful interpersonal connection.​

Zalek performs often in both live and online situations; the City of Chicago named them an Esteemed Artist in 2022. Elastic Arts Foundation awarded them a Curatorial Grant in 2020 for Hot Mess! This episodic performance event featured over seventy artists who engaged in interdisciplinary tactics using audio, video, and spatial mixing. ​

They have been conducting research and teaching for fifteen years and currently work with the Japanese Cultural Center, the Roman Susan Gallery, and Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education. They were a Chicago Dancemakers Forum Lab Artist in 2015, 3Arts Make a Wave Awardee in 2017, and a Ragdale Foundation Fellow. They have performed and curated performances at the Chicago Cultural Center, High Concept Labs, Elastic Arts, Experimental Sound Studio, Links Hall, Lumpen Radio, dfbrl8r, Boston Center for the Arts, Urban Guild in Kyoto, Japan, and many more. Through Butoh Curious Chi, Zalek has connected hundreds of national and international teaching artists with Chicago art makers across genres in the independent and fringe arenas including dance, butoh, physical theater, and experimental and improvisational music.

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Elaine Lemieux has been captivated by the rich sonic colors of the human voice for as long as she can remember. She has long been fascinated by its limitless possibilities for creative expression and the wide range of emotions it can convey. Elaine earned both her Master’s and Post-Master’s degrees in Music Interpretation (Voice) from the University of Montreal, Canada. With over 30 years of experience in voice study, training, and performance, she has developed a diverse and interdisciplinary career.

Elaine has worked as a recitalist, cantor, chorister, performer, voice teacher, and music facilitator. She has soloed with chamber music ensembles, choirs, theatrical groups, and dance companies, performing classical, baroque, sacred, and contemporary repertoires in Canada, the United States, and Europe. Her artistic practice is deeply informed by improvisational approaches drawn from theater and dance, shaped through long-standing collaborations with performance artists. She also completed five years of training in the Musicianship and Leadership Program (MLP) with the MUSIC FOR PEOPLE organization.

For the past decade, Elaine has been engaged in an ongoing creative collaboration with performance artist and Butoh practitioner Sara Zalek. Together, they explore the intersection of voice, movement, improvisation, and embodied presence through workshops and performances. This collaboration constitutes a sustained practice of artistic inquiry and self-discovery, significantly influencing Elaine’s improvisational methodology and integrative approach to vocal expression.

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Voice Moov is a collaborative workshop and ongoing research by Elaine Lemieux and Sharkey Zalek. “We have been steadily meeting with our bodies and voices, listening & moving together for years. This is our innermost and research space with no big plan for performance. Yet, we wonder how we might show up to inspire you, question us, and propel some direction to move into performance with our work. 

We are in deep study and connection to Pauline Oliveros, the Outfield , Ione, David Darling, Meredith Monk, Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru, W.A. Mathieu; “The Listening Book,” memories of our fathers, A-432 Hz, solidarity with Palestinians, First Nation, BIPOC, othered peoples, our grief, the joy of embodying resonance, and of witnessing one each other.”