Media Burn archive moves up to new West Loop space

After ten years in a dark storefront in Old Irving Park, the Media Burn Independent Video archive moved a few weeks ago to a bright, sun-filled fourth floor loft at 935 W. Chestnut, near Chicago Avenue and Halsted. 

The Office warming party last Friday (the 13th) was attended by a few dozen supporters and friends, especially enjoying the roof garden with its spectacular 360-degree view of all of Chicago.

Media Burn is a project of the Fund for Innovative TV, producers of dozens of TV shows (THE 90’s series, Baseball’s Been Very, Very Good to Me: the Minnie Minoso Story).

It was founded in 1989 by award-winning documentary producer and video producer Tom Weinberg, whose “Image Union” series on WTTW/11 brought indie film work in front of a Chicago audience for the first time.

Sara Chapman is the executive director of the unique archive, which contains more than 7,000 documentary videos by producers throughout the world, and focusing on Chicago-based independent video, spanning four decades.

It also includes the largest archive of author/activist Studs Terkel videos.  

Some 2,500 videos have been digitized and are available free to screen 24/7 at mediaburn.org.