Going Dutch Festival
The Going Dutch Festival is a celebration of female and nonbinary voices in the arts.
EXPERIENCE GOING DUTCH 2025
In 2024, the 14th year of Going Dutch, the project moved from a short festival to a residency series to give GD artists the resources to build groundbreaking creative work and better connect the talents and voices of GD artists with Elgin area artists and audiences. The residency series has continued into 2025 with a variety of amazing artists and performances.
The Going Dutch Festival is produced by Side Street Studio Arts with support from the Elgin Cultural Arts Commission.
GD COMMITTEE
Going Dutch Festival Committee:
Going Dutch Festival Crew:
Erin Rehberg, Amanda Harris, Jess Rocha, Luiza Moraes, Abby Franke
Tanner Melvin, Erin Rehberg, Amanda Harris, Jess Rocha, Luiza Moraes, Nick Mataragas, Abby King, Abby Franke
SCHEDULE
March 29th - 30th
Alien Spouse is a performance born of the experience of Going Dutch’s first residency artist of 2024 as she navigated her fresh relocation to the US. Having gone through the process of applying for a marriage-based Green Card, she became acutely aware of the skill with which legal and bureaucratic protocols create obstacles for immigrants that border the absurd.
As an artist, she allowed her lived experience to fuel the creative process in the making of a performance that is a blend of dance, lecture, healing ritual, and dreamscape. Somewhere between legal forms and dance parties, the hope is to spread information to those who don’t know what the process is like and to honor the experience of those who do. Even more relevant today than it was in its first public appearances, Alien Spouse is back with more.
At The Elgin History Museum, $5 Suggested Donation. Drinks and Snacks will be available.
3/29 at 7pm and 3/30 at 2pm
July 2024 - July 2025
Abby Franke Going Dutch / SSSA Artist in Residence
Franke seeks to celebrate the complexities of femininity, inviting viewers into tactile and intimate explorations of identity, resilience, and vulnerability
June 6, 2025
Abby Franke Solo Show
November 8 - 9
Going Dutch Festival
Produced by Side Street Studio Arts with support from the Elgin Cultural Arts Commission, Going Dutch returns for its 15th year! This festival uplifts female and nonbinary artists through performances and workshops on November 8 and 9, 2025, in downtown Elgin, IL.
We embrace the unexpected, creating immersive experiences where audiences share space with artists—whether indoors, outdoors, or in nontraditional settings. There is no fourth wall, no pomp—just art in its raw and engaging form.
TBD.
Keyierra Collins Residency.
Keyierra is an Afro-interdisciplinary dancer and choreographer based in Chicago, but recognized internationally.
Going Dutch FAQ
Q. What is Going Dutch?
A. GD is a celebration of the female and nonbinary voice in dance, music, theatre, and the visual arts. When Core Project founded Going Dutch years ago, we were looking for a title that was about singularity and individualism, as so many female choreographers (only at that point) were underrepresented and/or lumped into larger regional or national representations.
As Going Dutch has grown, expanded, and become a multi-disciplinary festival, the meaning has transitioned to represent the ideals of self-support, sustainability, and representation.
Going Dutch was originally developed to address the underrepresentation of female choreographers in the dance world. As the idea grew into a festival over the years, it expanded to include the work of self-identified female artists working in music, theater, site-specific, and visual art as well as dance.
For years, Going Dutch has been inclusive of nonbinary artists, both as applicants and within the context the creative groups involved in the festival. However, this support had not yet made it into our mission, nor our committee, but we are now doing just that. The 13th Going Dutch Festival was our first official celebration of female and nonbinary voices in the arts.
From the beginning, GD was about providing a platform for underrepresented artists, we honor that this term extends well beyond those who identify as female, and, in our current home of Elgin, IL, know that both female and nonbinary artists deserve this platform and support.
Q. Where is the Going Dutch Festival located?
A. The festival will be hosted in various venues in downtown Elgin, approximately 40 miles outside of Chicago. Check out a map of downtown Elgin, including where all our FREE PARKING is located!
Take a glimpse into previous Going Dutch!
