Work In Context:

The Cliff Dwellers Sessions

is a new interview podcast series celebrating Chicago creatives — their histories, work, methodologies, principles, ambitions, and more. Hosted by Chicago author Richard Reeder, each episode features a different Chicago-based creative ready to share the lessons they've learned and the ideas they've cultivated. Conversations take place by the fireplace at The Cliff Dwellers, a club for members engaged in or supportive of the arts, located in downtown Chicago.

Artwork of a man in a tuxedo inside a gallery with multiple framed photographs on gray walls, wooden cabinets, and artsy decor.
Artwork of a man in a tuxedo inside a gallery with multiple framed photographs on gray walls, wooden cabinets, and artsy decor.

Selina Trepp

Interdisciplinary Artist

Close-up black-and-white photograph of a woman with dark hair styled with volume, wearing earrings, and a dark top with a high neckline, looking at the camera.

Selina Trepp is a Swiss/American artist researching economy and improvisation. For Trepp, finding a balance between the intuitive and the conceptual is a goal. She works across media and space combining performance, installation, painting, and sculpture to create intricate setups that result in photos, drawings and animations. In addition to her studio-based work, Trepp is active in the experimental music scene. In this context she sings and plays the videolah, creating projected animations in real-time as visual music. She performs with a varying cast of collaborators and as one half of Spectralina.

LISTEN/WATCH: APPLE | SPOTIFY | YOUTUBE
Work In Context The Art of Community with Selina Trepp

Lee Bey

Architecture Critic / Photographer

A close-up portrait of a man with a bald head, wearing glasses and a dark ribbed sweater.

Lee Bey is architecture critic for the Chicago Sun-Times. He is also author of the much-praised book Southern Exposure: The Overlooked Architecture of Chicago’s South Side (Northwestern University Press, 2019), which showcases his architectural photography and social commentary. Bey's photography is also featured in the book, Who is the City For? Architecture, Equity, and the Public Realm in Chicago (University of Chicago Press, 2022) by former Chicago Tribune Architecture Critic Blair Kamin. Bey was also the host of the public television special, Building Blocks: The Architecture of Chicago’s South Side, which aired on WTTW in 2023, earning him a 2023  Midwest Emmy nomination. He is the 2021 recipient of Julius Shulman Institute Excellence in Photography Award. Bey is currently working on a book that documents the architecture of Chicago’s West Side.

LISTEN/WATCH: APPLE | SPOTIFY | YOUTUBE
Work In Context The Craft of Critique with Lee Bey
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Past Episodes

Person with dreadlocks wearing a black hooded shirt performing a headstand yoga pose on a wooden floor, wearing colorful traditional clothing and maroon leggings.

Cristal Sabbagh

Movement and Interdisciplinary Artist
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A man with glasses and a beard smiling, wearing a light-colored button-up shirt, standing in front of a brick wall.

Will Quam

Architectural Photographer/Historian
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