sou.l is a dynamic traveling collection of Black artist publications, serving as a pop-up installation and activation space for talks that elevate and celebrate the significance of Black art in print and physical media
Upcoming Events
June
May
April
March
Vends + Vibes Arts Marketplace
Saturday, June 14 | 1-7 PM | 337 E Garfield Blvd, Chicago, IL 60637Get ready for the return of Vends + Vibes, Arts + Public Life's annual summer arts marketplace celebrating the incredible creative entrepreneurs of the South Side! Join us on the Arts Lawn on Saturday, June 14, 2025, from 1:00 to 7:00 PM, for an afternoon where artists, makers, and neighbors connect, shop, and share the lively energy in Washington Park.
Spend the afternoon with South Side artists and makers, showcasing jewelry, vintage finds, home goods, books, self-care essentials, and more. Whether you're treating yourself or picking up something for a loved one, you’re sure to discover something special. Vendors keep 100% of their sales, ensuring your purchase directly supports the local creative entrepreneurs. Enjoy some of the city’s most beloved food vendors, serving up flavors as rich and vibrant as the marketplace itself.
Chi Vinyl Connect
Sunday, June 1 | 12–5 PM | Emporium Logan – 2363 N. MilwaukeeChi Vinyl Connect is a record show with a mission from old - connecting discerning diggers of Chicagoland to the best records and to one another offering thousands of new and vintage vinyl albums. Expect to find the classics you know and need, plus the genres and artists not typically available at record shows. And, through the music, expect to connect with other local collectors!
This is an ALL AGES event from 12–5 PM (must be accompanied by a 21+ legal guardian).
Chibrations
Tuesday, May 27th | 7-10 PM | 6100 S Blackstone Ave @ Experimental Station in Build CoffeeThis month’s theme: Street Art & Street Performing
Chibrations is an artist-led, live event series promoting the importance of storytelling and documentation through community initiatives and new media platforms. This monthly series highlights individuals, organizations and collectives on ground and underground levels, who contextualize new possibilities for historically marginalized and creative communities. Guests should expect to network, learn, and be inspired through interactive media, panels and discussions, artist resources, vendors, food, and an open jam session with a live band. RSVP
South Loop Farmer’s Market
12-4 PM Sunday March through April at Water Tower Place 835 N. Michigan Ave., 4th FloorEnjoy an indoor market with friends & family. Support small businesses, engage with the community.
Free entrance. Free 2-hour validated parking
Chibrations at Experimental Station
Chibrations presents the Portal an artist led event series bringing together creatives, organizers and mobilizers to explore new media initiatives to amplify movements of today and the future. Featuring a house band, art wall activation and food trucks. RSVP on Chibrations app! March 25th 7-10 PMIndigo Sessions
Continuing our collab with Aliyah Jones Indigo Sessions will be at Dorothy’s featuring Carmani Edwards, Anaiet.Soul and Max Lazarus. Sunday March 16 at 7 PM at Dorothy’s Downstairs 2500 W Grand Ave. History
Alexandria is the founder of SOUiL (@souilchicago) a concept pop-up bookstore & record shop featuring Black and POC authors/artists and hopes to bring a printing press/publishing house, an independent library, a movie theater, and free art workshop space and cafe to the South & or West side of Chicago.
About sou.l
sou.l was founded in 2022 as a pop-up bookstore and record shop traveling throughout the south and west sides of chicago/land. In the first two years, sou.l did activations at festivals, arts and cultural spaces, and libraries featuring a collaboration with Asmaa Walton of Black Art Library and a recurring series at The Blk.Room
About the founder
Raised in the south suburbs of Chicago, Alexandria received a Bachelor of Arts in Literature and Visual Studies with a concentration in photography from the University of Missouri-Columbia and did graduate study in African American Studies at UCLA. Passionate about the art of the Black diaspora, Alexandria has been a researcher for the Hollywood Diversity Report, taught classes on Black Horror and Afrofuturism, facilitated poetry workshops, book clubs, and film screenings, and worked with K through higher ed. Alexandria is an alumni of the LA Review of Books Publishing workshop and interned with Third World Press the oldest continuously operating Black publishing house located in Chatham, Chicago.
Past Events
Indigo Sessions
The.BlkRoom in collaboration with Aliyah Jones is hosting a new series called Indigo Sessions! Indigo Sessions is a collective show series, founded by Aliyah Jones, created to highlight the artistry of Black Women and Femmes. The lack of safe spaces for us fueled the development of this musical experience. Each show highlights 3 Black Women who are creating phenomenal work. Artist have free range of how they present their art and who they invite to share the stage with them. It is so rare to find shows, venues, or installations that prioritize our voices. Indigo Sessions is dedicated to this mission and looks forward to connecting the city through this show series.
Saturday, September 21st, 5:30pm - 9:30pm we are having our first of many sessions featuring Oxvy.Moron, Camíla, and Aliyah Jones. This series will also feature a vegan sweet vendor Ieisha - @thatearthygirly, as well as Archivist and book vendor Alexandria - @souilchicago.
Sunday Salons
To close, celebrating the summer edition of Sunday Salons exploring the interplay of Black art, film, books, and vinyl—we will be having a film screening of Black Art: In The Absence of Light. Directed by Sam Pollard and released in 2020 on HBO Max, featuring historic and contemporary Black artists in their own words discussing the art world and their place in it.
SOU.L collaborated with The Blk.Room for a recurring series called Sunday Salons in the summer of 2024. Highlighting a rotating artist book from my personal collection, the afternoon is filled with conversation, coffee, and curiosity about all things Black art
Black Art Library
SOU.L collaborated with Asmaa Walton of Black Art Library and artist Alexandra Antoine at the Douglass Branch of Chicago Public Library in October 2023. Bringing together a curated selection of books for view and for purchase on Black Artist and Art History
Summer Fests
SOU.L collaborated with the Honeycomb Network in September 2022 as part of Summer Festival Fresh, a night market highlighting BIPOC creatives. Located in Humboldt Park, the Honeycomb Network provides a hive for BIPOC to be centered as leaders, teachers, artists, healers, & learners, in order to build, grow and sustain. a space for BIPOC creative entrepreneurs to thrive.
SOU.L’s collaborated with The Gard3n in August 2022 for a market highlighting BIPOC creatives and business owners. The Gard3n is a space dedicated to cultivating and celebrating the rich tapestry of artistic talent in Chicago by creating dynamic pop-up experiences that serve as vibrant inclusive platforms for local creatives to showcase their work
SOU.L’s first pop up was in 2022 during Juneteenth weekend at Homewood-Flossmoor’s Juneteenth Festival. The collaboration was made possible by You Matter 2. Both organizations focus are on an effort to bring the community together to celebrate Black joy, learn about the holiday, and highlight Black-owned Businesses. With over 5,000 attendees, 83 Black-owned businesses, and 15 entertainers it has grown to be the largest Chicago Southland Juneteenth Festival, and has become a staple in the community that honors our ancestors, celebrates Black culture, pride, and power, and creates a space for us, by us.
All inquiries to souilchicago@gmail.com