Whoever said hanging out at the swimming pool meant being outside in a bathing suit on a hot summer day was just plain wrong. There's more to the pool than standing around looking cute, especially at this new Albany Park storefront art project space opened by local artists Liz Nielsen and Joshua Kozuh.

This flipper- and floaty-friendly space's windows are covered in a blue sheet, but don't be detoured. Walk down the Astroturfed stairs onto the hi-gloss blue epoxied floor that gleams like the water of a swimming pool. There's a lifeguard-red door located in the back, and the bathroom's been converted into a sauna complete with four-inch faux fur on the walls and bright lights throughout. "The space itself is ... like a pool," Nielsen says. "It's supposed to be this 'other' space — I'm not interested in representing artists at all. I am interested in connections, connector people, curating, curating curators, having artists curate."

And even though it's technically a commercial space, Nielsen and Kozuh aren't doin' it for the dolla billz—they want the space to "act like a hub that brings artists and people together to connect through, and in the presence of, contemporary art." In some ways, the Swimming Pool builds on the café/salon model, a space where the exchange of intellectual, artistic and just plain creative ideas are constantly evolving. And depending on the opening and the mood they're in, one might find a toddler swimming pool filled with beer and bottled water out back. So feel free to show up in your bathing suit.

Centerstage Reviewer: Alicia Eler