As uncertainty strains on our daily lives, voices from various backgrounds stand together in “NO”: Igniting Oppositional Consciousness, a show in response and in opposition to the global political right wing shift.
No is curated by student artists at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) in the course titled Social Movements from a Global Perspective, which attempts to define what it means to be a part of a “movement” in its entirety. This exploration is facilitated via classroom visitors imparting first-hand accounts, documentary narratives, and active dialogue. While the syllabus focuses largely on the social justice movements of 20–21st century North and South America, it is motivated, above all, by a general probing of the connections that tie successfully driven movements together. Topics of discourse have ranged from immigration and labor laws to the rights of indigenous peoples. This show confronts what it means to be an artist activist in today’s social climate, beyond the attendance of a protest. With the recent surge in protest as a response to uprisings of oppression, having this stage upon which to contribute intersectional activism is both essential and eye-opening. Students have produced and curated provocative works to further expose the course’s discourse to the outside world. Both within the classroom and on the walls of the gallery, the exhibition examines the crucial connections between creativity and resistance.

Group Show:, Ally Berkowitz ,­­­­Noa Billick, Morgan Bussy, Kristine Dalbey, Nicole Demczuk, Eric Garcia, Josselyn Garcia, Angeline Sofia Holt, Shannon Jarhling, Hellen Jo, Farnaz Khosh-Sirat, Maria Louisa, Joseph Josue Mora, Noëlle Pouzar, Navi Schiff, Ona Sian, Aram Han Sifuentes, Joanna Sit, Annie Rose Soler, Lindsay Stewart, Michaela Vaughan, Lisa Vinebaum, Thaib A. Wahab

April 14: Program 7pm

Shannon Jarhling: Speaking about the SAIC Social Movements from a Global Perspective class that organized the show and how the artist-students have been questioning their role in social activism and social change.

Noa Billick: Speaking about her curatorial role in the show, discusses the exhibit, and reflects on the students’ concerns, core values and involvement in social change activism.

SAIC Professor Ruth Needleman: Q and A

Performance: (approximately 730pm) A Witness: Performance by Maria Louisa, SAIC. The performance discusses the United State’s dismissal of past atrocities it has committed as a nation to both Native American people and the earth as a whole and it’s refusal to acknowledge and learn from it’s violent history. The performance incorporates legal documents specific to the dealings between the U.S. and the Sioux nation, spanning from the Blackhill treaty in 1868 to present day cease and desist orders surrounding DAPL. The romanticism, reliance and abuse of the earth acknowledges our inescapable complicity in our own demise

Live Music: Plus Sign, Half Awake, and Shark Fangs + (Plus Sign) is President of the World; a rapper, educator, writer, and community organizer who likes to play a lot of games on his way to granting eternal life to our planet! His work can be found at tenderdiscovery.com

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Tags: ­­­­Noa Billick, “NO”: Igniting Oppositional Consciousness, Angeline Sofia Holt, Annie Rose Soler, Aram Han Sifuentes, Chicago, Eric Garcia, Farnaz Khosh-Sirat, Hellen Jo, Joanna Sit, Joseph Josue Mora, Josselyn Garcia, Kristine Dalbey, Lindsay Stewart, Lisa Vinebaum, lly Berkowitz, Lower West Side, Maria Louisa, Michaela Vaughan, Morgan Bussy, Navi Schiff, Nicole Demczuk, Noëlle Pouzar, Ona Sian, Shannon Jarhling, Thaib A. Wahab, Uri-Eichen Gallery