Sep 12th 2025

Our Existence is Protest

@ The Center for Mad Culture

410 S Michigan Ave, Suite 419, Chicago, IL 60605

Opening Friday, September 12th, from 5PM - 9PM

On view through Saturday, October 25th

Our existence is not negotiable.

In response to the recent executive order targeting “the mentally ill” and the threat of Chicago becoming a site for federal overreach, the Center for Mad Culture presents Our Existence is Protest. Madness has always been used as a weapon, intentionally misdiagnosed and imposed on protestors, minorities, and those society seeks to control. This exhibition calls that out and creates a space for refusal.

This community-driven exhibition transforms the gallery into a site of solidarity and defiance. Visitors are invited to leave their protest on the walls, including writing over a large copy of Donald Trump’s July 24th executive order, “Ending Crime and Disorder on America’s Streets.”

At the opening on September 12, 5–9 pm, artist David Lozano/Polvo Eres will be letterpress printing protest posters for attendees. These works will be displayed along one side of the gallery, filling the space with collective resistance in print.

This is not just an exhibition. It is a gathering. A refusal. A declaration that mad and disabled lives will not be erased.

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