We have been collaborating with Bit Bash Chicago since their very first festival back in 2014, and with that partnership we have been able to exhibit our collection at their events, manage their print competitions, curate exhibitions of digital art, and highlight our developed work such as the exhibition of Frame Switch in 2019. Today, we’re thrilled to announce we are taking that partnership even further, as VGA Gallery is now the fiscal sponsor of Bit Bash Chicago.

So in what ways do video games teach us? Well, obviously, trivia games and the like teach us facts and bits of useless knowledge to lord over others at parties. But more generally, games teach us how to manipulate and explore a virtual space in order to overcome specific roadblocks. Teaching how to explore is a game’s most important job, for without it, the player would be unable to see the carefully coded experience laid out by the developers.

One thing that has helped me massively through all of this? Video games. I have spent many late-night hours discovering some incredibly beautiful pieces of art from indie developers that somehow manage to encapsulate all of my emotions wordlessly. I have whittled down a long list of recommendations to six indie games that have had incredible significance to me. Some of these games are gay, some of them are sad. Some of them are both. All of them, however, have helped me confront some really difficult and emotional questions in the middle of a bewildering world.