Drown-Proofing
@ Epiphany Center for the Arts
201 S Ashland Ave, Chicago, IL 60607
Opening Friday, May 23rd, from 6PM - 9PM
On view through Friday, July 18th
To drown-proof is to survive. It is a technique—a learned resilience—that allows one to stay afloat when rescue is uncertain. Taught by the community, it is not just a physical skill but a mindset, a method of endurance that depends on the ability to remain calm in unstable waters.
This exhibition explores the art of holding on and letting go, of adapting to unfamiliar territories, and the ways we sustain ourselves without stability. Drown-Proofing brings together artists from the SAIC community, including staff, graduate, and undergraduate students. The artists navigate shifting cultural, political, and personal landscapes, examining what it means to stay afloat amid adversity. Their works address survival tactics, resistance, and transformation, confronting systems of power that threaten to pull communities under.
How do we teach people to breathe when there is no air? How do we connect past and present, tradition and innovation, homeland and new ground? Through acts of creation, artists in this exhibition reclaim agency, revealing the struggles and triumphs of those who refuse to be submerged.
Drown-Proofing is not just about survival—it is about finding strength in the community, learning to adapt, and discovering new ways to rise. We create not only the means to stay afloat, but also the possibilities of a new way forward.
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Tags: Ahmad George, Cenìnye Harris, Chicago, Christina Lee, Daun Suh, Emilia Herrera Charpentier, Emily Schroeder Willis, Epiphany Center for the Arts, George Tonyi: TUNES IN ART, Heaven Hill, Isaiah Lee McDaniel, James Baroz, Katerina Garbarczyk, Liang-Yu Huang, Nanako Wagley, near west side, PEDRO MONTILLA, Pedro Trueba Ramirez, René Morrell, Ruby Bassford, Seunghee Lee, Shengjie Jiang, Soo Kim, Tzu Ying Cheng, Vanessa Damilola Micaulay, Winnie Weiyun Szu
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