Think Pink Radio

IML. Say it with me, folks. Nothing does Spring in Chicago like International Mr. Leather, and every year I get more and more excited. Memorial Day weekend in Chicago is the another gay holiday to me, the far superior Pride for so many reasons. What is better than tens of thousands of Leather Daddies descending upon us for a raunchy weekend, taking over the Loop and an unsuspecting public? Nothing. At all. You just can’t beat a Walgreens filled with fetishists, and when the guy in the full blue leather sailor suit asks for some wintermint gum and lip balm in a super nelly voice, I know why I live in the best city on earth…it’s home!

Anyhow, this year the Leather Archives & Museum is hoping to expand the horizons of the event by staging performance and displaying art at the Leather Market (if you don’t know what the market is, picture a craft fair but all the “crafts” will make you blush). From the LA&M press release:

S&Mart consists of two parts, an Opening Night Art Show/Auction and a Demo Stage Market Show. The Art show will be held at the Hilton – Chicago and is open to the event’s local and international audience. Works will be on display and available for sale as part of a silent auction with a percentage of the proceeds returning to the artist. The Demo Market Show will consist of a group of 5 to 7 performers or performance groups and will be scheduled as acts between scheduled Fetish Demonstrations.

If you are interested in showing or performing fetish/leather related art at this year’s IML, contact Scott Ian Ray at gagallery((@))leatherarchives.org