Founded in 1991 by Ed Marszewski as a freely-circulated zine in Champaign, Illinois, The Lumpen Times relocated to Chicago in 1993, evolving from an underground publication into a generative cultural hub. Through collective engagement, social encounters, and experimental practice, The Lumpen Times catalyzed an expansive network of cultural platforms that have produced hundreds of projects, exhibitions, spaces, and initiatives over three decades.
“Operating A Front for the Left” through what they describe as "the Certainty of Chance" and “Successful Failures,” the collective's projects demonstrate a commitment to cultural production as community infrastructure. The early publication ventures led to broader explorations: dot-communism experiments (Supersphere.com), international art and activism festivals (Version Festival, Select Media Fest), community art spaces (CoProsperity), and low power community radio station (Lumpen Radio-105.5 WLPN), among countless others. The collective expanded into hospitality and retail through bars (Maria’s Packaged Goods & Community Bar), restaurants (Kimski), a brewery & beverage company (Marz Brewing/Life on Marz Community Club), and artists' retail shop (Buddy Shop), as well as community kitchens and other impactful mutual aid initiatives.
This interconnected constellation of ventures—each fueling the next—now operates under the umbrella of The Buddy System, embodying a deeply inclusive model of cultural production that blurs boundaries between art, activism, publishing, and community-building. Their work represents a sustained experiment in building what they call "Bridgeport, the Community of the Future" through grassroots, artist-led infrastructure.
