Art on Tap Chicago makes films about artists. But from the beginning, we've also been interested in the places where creativity happens away from the studio. Chicago's neighborhood bars can be much more than places to have a drink. They are meeting places, neighborhood living rooms and, sometimes, creative incubators—places where regulars become friends, strangers strike up conversations and artists find community. Sociologist Ray Oldenburg called places outside home and work

The Map Room Bucktown The idea of a “third space” borrows from the work of urban sociologist Ray Oldenburg (1932–2022), who explored the importance of informal gathering places outside the two places that tend to dominate our lives: home and work. In his influential 1989 book, The Great Good Place, Oldenburg described home as the “first place,” work as the “second place,” and the informal places where people gather simply because they want to be there as “third places.” Thes

On Sunday, May 17, director Chad Rispalje, producer Jon Hearon, and cinematographer Jon Cole filmed Chicago-based mixed-media artist Lauren Foit for Art on Tap. A Loyola University graduate, Lauren’s work centers on making art feel accessible, communal, and fun. Through her platform, Lauren Took an Art Class, she shares her creative process, approachable how-to tutorials, and hosts in-person events ranging from immersive art experiences to hands-on workshops. We were fortunat

Mixed media artist Cori O'Connor is the focus of Art on Tap’s first episode. Director Chad Rispalje, producer Jon Hearon, and cinematographer Ryan Kolegas filmed the interview at Go Tavern & Liquors and at Cori’s home studio on Saturday, April 25, 2026. Over 90 minutes, Cori traced her journey from Florida to Chicago, shared deeply personal stories of loss, and introduced some of the distinctive work she has created at Go Tavern. She even drew a couple of patrons into a spont

British contemporary artist Paul Martin (1948–2022) described art as “a lonely occupation… a conversation within your own head and with the work in progress, and all else a distraction.” In the years since the pandemic, many remote workers have found themselves in a similar state—spending long days in their own rooms, their own heads, their own screens, with colleagues reduced to pings and shifting images on a laptop. Against the backdrop of Chicago’s iconic tavern cultu