Gallery Swarm is proud to announce its newest groundbreaking brainchild Doors to a Better World! On Friday December 16, 2011, one year to the day since the Northside’s newest art haven opened its doors, Gallery Swarm will host one of its trademark offbeat art shows. With a philanthropic twist.

Doors to a Better World 2011, is the inaugural event of the innovative “show to save the world.” Each year, the Swarm will host a “doors” show that benefits a different organization. As with everything else Swarm, Doors was conceived from “found creativity.” One night Artist in Residence, Jim Schneider, showed up to paint and brought some doors with him. He’d procured them for $2 a piece and thought they’d make fun canvases. While painting their doors, the artists started talking and an idea was born.

In true Gallery Swarm style, artists include budding, accomplished and celebrity artists from across many disciplines, ranging from Peter Mars and 10 year-old Gabriel Morua to Chicago Art Center artists participating in WBEZ’s What’s Your Art? event. Each artist is donating their time to create a working hingeable door, donated by Lucky 29 Design Build and The Strypp Joint. The doors will be set up as an installation at the event, with every door up for auction that evening. Winners of the auction will walk out with a real working door that can be either a novel art piece in their home or office or a one-of-a-kind actual working door with an original piece of art.

Gillis comments, “the artists were only given one guideline to create their door. It has to be a working door.” And taking that as their one guiding principle, each door is as innovative as their artists. One featured door has a peephole drilled into it, with a video iPod installed behind it. When the viewer looks through the peephole, they see images that make it seem as if they’re looking outside. Another artist created handpainted Luan doors and another a door made of New Yorker covers.

This year’s event will benefit Center on Halsted, the most comprehensive LGBT community center in the Midwest. The evening will feature an auction, live entertainment, local cuisine and luscious libations.