20×2 Chicago: What Do You Want?

Over the weekend, I got to participate in 20×2 Chicago – an event where 20 creatives are all given the same question. Each participant can answer however they like (presentation, reciting a poem, singing a song), so long as they do so in two minutes or less.

It’s a really fun constraint, and a fun event given how varied the answers (and participants) are.

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The event this time took place at Quenchers Saloon, in Logan Square. Which had a remarkable selection of beers.

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They even had my new favorite beer: Dragon’s Milk. Because why use a hammer when you can use a sledgehammer?

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The crowd, gathering before the show.

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Andrew, starting off the night.

In an interesting departure, I opted not to do a talk this time around. Instead, I made a video (and let the crew of Star Trek answer the question for me).

Normally, I’m a bundle of nerves before I take the stage. I like memorizing my talks, and it’s oftentimes hard for me to really enjoy the event until after I’m done speaking.

In making a video, all I really had to do was give a brief intro to the clip. And to top things off, I got to go first! So it made for a really easy evening, where I could just sick back and enjoy all the presenters, start to finish (without worrying about my own portion).

Here’s what I did:

As always, there were so many great answers. Here are a few that stood out to me:

Keidra Chaney talked about being diagnosed with a degenerative eye disease, and how what she wants has changed over the years.

Tanner Woodford wasn’t able to attend, but also created a video response (which was really lovely):

Ines Bellina decided that she wanted to rant, and shared with us her 10 Demands for the Universe.

For me, the presentation by Megan Stielstra was by far the most powerful. Recounting a moment when she was assaulated at a bar, it was a haunting story. It’s been days since I heard it, and I still think about it.

James Allenspach did a phenomenal retro music video mashup, which I will post here as soon as I can track it down (it was awesome). // Edit: You can view it on Facebook.

But those are just a few presenters, from a full night of creative, personal, and engaging answers. You can check out the full event via the videos, below:

Related:
On Being Mistaken A Lot For Popular DJ Steve Aoki: Felix Jung, 20×2 Chicago
20×2 Chicago: Where Are We?
20×2 Chicago: How Could You?
20×2 Chicago: Who Knew?

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