CAMPAIGN: A Celebration of Pope.L
Sunday, November 10 and Monday, November 11, 2024, 4-8PM
Logan Center for the Arts, 915 E. 60th St.
Free and open to the public (RSVP)
https://events.uchicago.edu/event/campaign-a-celebration-of-popel

On behalf of the Division of the Humanities at The University of Chicago, you are cordially invited to save the dates of November 10 and 11, 2024 for CAMPAIGN: A Celebration of Pope.L

An artist & teacher for over a decade in the city of Chicago, Pope.L touched countless lives in big and small ways with his insight, generosity, kindness, and creative vision. Whether you were a student, fan, friend, or colleague, we know that Pope.L was incredibly important to a broad and diverse community. To learn more about Pope.L’s career at The University of Chicago, visit here.

Free and open to the public, we invite you to join us for all, or part of this two-day commemoration to celebrate this singular artist whose work inspired so many.

Events will take place at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts and Midway Studios at The University of Chicago.

CAMPAIGN: A Celebration of Pope.L is organized by the Department of Visual Arts, the Gray Center for Arts & Inquiry, the Reva & David Logan Center for the Arts, and the Neubauer Collegium for Culture and Society

Programming Schedule:

Sunday, November 10, 4 pm – 8 pm

Events take place at both the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts (915 East 60th Street) & Midway Studios (929 East 60th Street) at The University of Chicago.

4 pm – 8 pm – View Works by Pope.L – Throughout the Logan Center

View works by Pope.L created during his time at The University of Chicago—often done collaboratively with his studio and students in the Department of Visual Arts. Works include: Cliff, Hansel and Gretel Graduate Seminar, and The Whispering Campaign. Also screening throughout the Logan Center will be a selection of video documentation of performances by Pope.L over the course of his career.

4:30 pm – 5:45 pm – A Screening of Pope.L: The Escape (2018) – Logan Center Screening Room 201

View a rare screening of Pope.L: The Escape. [01:07:16]

Pope.L’s The Escape is an experimental restaging of one of the earliest extant pieces of African American dramatic literature: the 1858 play The Escape; or, A Leap to Freedom by the abolitionist and freed black slave William Wells Brown. Through comedy and critique, Brown’s story charts the push and pull of sex, power, and black agency on a Southern plantation before the Civil War. Pope.L’s rendition deconstructs and reassembles fragments of the original play, agitating and transfiguring the material in the process. To learn more about the original performance visit here.

6 pm – 7 pm – Show, Tell, and Ignore – Midway Studios Great Hall

Join Dieter Roelstrate and Zachary Cahill, colleagues and friends of Pope.L,as they guide us through a close viewing of some of the objects and materials used by the artist in his works and performances over the years.

7 pm – 8 pm – Tacos and Beer – Gray Center Lab

Join family and friends as we celebrate Pope.L with tacos and beer hosted by the Richard and Mary L. Gray Center for Arts & Inquiry.

Monday, November 11, 4 pm – 8 pm

Events take place at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts (915 East 60th Street) at The University of Chicago.

4 pm – 8 pm – View Works by Pope.L – Throughout the Logan Center

View works by Pope.L created during his time at The University of Chicago—often done collaboratively with his studio and students in the Department of Visual Arts. Works include: Cliff, Hansel and Gretel Graduate Seminar, and The Whispering Campaign. Also screening throughout the Logan Center will be a selection of video documentation of performances by Pope.L over the course of his career.

4 pm – 5:30 pm – The Teachings of Pope.L – Logan Center Penthouse Room 901

Logan Center Room 901. Join colleague and friend of Pope.L’s, Zespo of the Department of Visual Arts’ Open Practice Committee in a collective sharing of memories of Pope.L as a teacher and mentor.

4:00 pm – 5:15 pm – A Screening of Pope.L: The Escape (2018) – Logan Center Performance Hall

View a rare screening of Pope.L: The Escape. [01:07:16]

Pope.L’s The Escape is an experimental restaging of one of the earliest extant pieces of African American dramatic literature: the 1858 play The Escape; or, A Leap to Freedom by the abolitionist and freed black slave William Wells Brown. Through comedy and critique, Brown’s story charts the push and pull of sex, power, and black agency on a Southern plantation before the Civil War. Pope.L’s rendition deconstructs and reassembles fragments of the original play, agitating and transfiguring the material in the process. To learn more about the original performance visit here.

5:30 pm – 6:30 pm – Reception – Logan Center Gidwitz Lobby

Join colleagues, former students, family, and friends as we gather for a reception and share memories before the formal celebration.

6:30 pm – 8 pm – Celebrating Pope.L – Logan Center Performance Hall

Logan Center Performance Hall. Join us as we celebrate Pope.L and his many contributions to the arts community at The University of Chicago, across the city of Chicago, and beyond. Dean of the Humanities at The University of Chicago, Deborah Nelson, and Matthew Jesse Jackson, Chair of the Department of Visual Arts, will introduce the evening speakers of colleagues, family, and friends including: Darby English, Theaster Gates, Laura Letinsky, Tina Post, Dieter Roelstraete, Zachary Cahill, John Patterson, Shane Huffman, and Mami Takahashi.

Official Website

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Tags: CAMPAIGN: A Celebration of Pope.L, Chicago, Darby English, Deborah Nelson, Dieter Roelstraete, Dieter Roelstrate, John Patterson, Laura Letinsky, Mami Takahashi, Matthew Jesse Jackson, Pope.L, Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts, Shane Huffman, The University of Chicago, Theaster Gates, Tina Post, Washington Park, Zachary Cahill