CAC is 1 Year Old 🎉 🎉 October Newsletter
This month, a call for feedback on the podcast Building AquĂ, a celebration of 1 year of CAC, and a look at what our goals are for year 2!
It's crazy how time flies! The Chicago Audiomakers Collective met for the first time one year ago as a group of about 15 audio producers and creators. Now we have almost 150 members, we've hosted 2 events, we're marching in a parade, and we have a ton of other exciting projects in the works!
Here's what we've got for you this month
- Notes from our October zoom — including a call out for audio submissions and notes on a project
- Photos from our in-person parade prep hang-out — it's not to late to join us!
- A quick reminder to join the Talent Directory!
- Upcoming audio related events in the city
October Zoom
In our monthly zoom, we took a more informal route. We did a round of breakout rooms, and spent some time chatting about what our hopes are for the next year of CAC.
We're all in agreement that right now is a moment where our skills, our ability to tell stories, and our connection to our community is as important as ever as fascism rises in our country and traditional news and media outlets are under direct attack.
To that end, there are a couple specific call-outs:
- If there's something going on in your community or neighborhood which people should know about, you can contact Derek John. Derek is currently working at WBEZ as the interim senior editor for Public Safety.
- Is there news more people should know about? You can send it to Charlie Meyerson who runs ChicagoPublicSquare.com a daily newsletter roundup of Chicago news to help get the word out.
On a lighter note:
- It sounds like there's interest in more events of all sizes — including small hang-outs like the group dinner we had after Podcast Movement. We'll take that into account!
- And a reminder — did you submit to Audio Flux Circuit 06? If so, send your submission to info@chiaudiocollective.com! We want to share it with our community! Thank you to Natalie Moore for sharing your submission!
A call for edits
Finally, at the end of our meeting, Jesse Betend of Rivet360 made a callout for feedback on a new project he's producing with the Chicago History Museum called Building AquĂ
When students at a predominantly Latino/a/e alternative high school in Chicago (Instituto Justice and Leadership Academy) realized that Chicago’s major history museum had no information about the Latino/a/e third of the city in its permanent exhibition, they took a stand—and made history. Building Aquà is a 4-part podcast that follows the students’ protest, the exhibition it inspired, and the long, rich legacy of Latine resistance, migration, and culture in the city. Told through music, oral history, and the sounds of Chicago, the series features the work of legendary Chicano folklorist "Chuy" Negrete and the voices of curators, activists, and community members working to expand the archive.
Jesse is looking for feedback on episode 1, which was published this week. He's also looking for volunteers to review advance copies of the 3 upcoming episodes for notes and feedback ahead of release.
If you can help: contact Jesse at jesse.betend@rivet360.com
Jesse on NBC Chicago
P.S. Congrats to Jesse on this project! It was featured on NBC earlier this week!
Parade Prep
Yesterday we held our October meeting, and a special in-person parade prep session.
Photos from parade prep on 10/2!
We're nearly ready to make some noise and celebrate Chicago's talented audio community!
Want to join us?
By now you've surely heard that CAC has been invited to gather audio and podcast talent from around the city for a night celebrating the arts through the Arts in the Dark parade!
As we approach the parade date of October 18th, we're still welcoming any and all participants! All you need to do is be there and be ready to have fun!
Bonus points if you:
- Wear any combination of Green, Yellow, and Red (from our trusty volume meters)
- Bring recording equipment to record audio at the parade
- Bring friends, colleagues, or even family
Talent Directory
The talent directory continues to grow! If you haven't signed up, please consider doing so — twice in the last two weeks I've shared the directory with folks looking to hire people for projects.
Upcoming Events
Here's a few fun things happening right here in Chicago over the next month or two:
2025 World Music Festival Chicago
THROUGH THIS WEEKEND
From the Chicago Cultural Center to Navy Pier, the 25th World Music Festival Chicago will activate 12 citywide venues to celebrate diverse heritages through music, including a sunset to sunrise Ragamala event. Throughout the 10-day festival, musical genres from geographical regions including Colombia, Vietnam, Egypt, Bosnia and more will be presented for free to the public.
Chicago Film Society Presents: Celluloid Now: Light & Noise
Thursday, Oct 09, 2025
This program begins with its namesake film, the last completed by the dearly missed Tomonari Nishikawa. Its title, Light, Noise, Smoke, and Light, Noise, Smoke, elegantly describes the forms each of the film’s Super 16 image takes as it moves through the projector. First: the light which projects towards the screen as the film runs through the projector gate. Second: the noise which the projector’s sound reader translates from the variance in opacity between bursts of sparks and the night’s sky. Third: smoke, open to interpretation but ideally not something related to the projector.
That's all for this month! Have a wonderful October and a fun Halloween!