The Autonomous Zone or A-Zone of
Chicago, is a collective of
freedom loving individuals that has been around in one form or another since 1993.
Currently is is located at 2129 N.
Milwaukee Avenue, right by the
Congress Theatre. But in the begiing it was in a house on the
near west side of Chiccago. Since then the A-Zone has since occupied several spaces in the
Wicker Park neighborhood.
Built around the idea of a
Infoshop/ radical
community center, the A-Zone provides resources for
activists and a space for people to come together and organize.
I first came into contact with the
founding fathers and mothers of the A-Zone during the
Gulf War. In fact the A-Zone was a direct result of the budding and destruction of the new Left. After the defeat of the
Anti-War movement, activists in Chicago decided to "think gloabaly, work locally" while also creating a
webwork for the next time the national scene would be happening.
The A-Zone helped Wicker Park gain some of its fame as a hotbed of lefties, anarchists,
freight hoppers,
hipsters and even the ocasional
neo-hippie such as myself. But the A-Zone also did much better in staying true to the original spirit of Wicker Park. It of all the WP institutions has maintained its purity the best over the years.
There are various projects, subcolectives and groups that compose the A-zone, these include:
KITCHEN COLLECTIVE
BIKE COLLECTIVE/BIKE SHOP
COMPUTERS/WEB DESIGN
LIBRARY/BOOKSTORE/ZINE LIBRARY
ART SPACE/COLLECTIVE
FUNDRAISING
MEDIA OUTREACH
WORK-CORE
YOUTH ORGANIZING
There are also several independent organizations that use the A-Zone as office space or meeting space.
Arsenal Magazine
Overwhelmer Media Collective
Anti-Racist Action
Animal Defense League
Food Not Bombs
Industrial Workers of the World
Guerrilla Love Radio
Mad Lib
Matches and Mayhem
Art and Revolution
Department of Space and Land Reclamation