Posters and banners, music and poetry—it’s hard to imagine their absence in our justice movements. They make our movements’ calls to action clear, visible, and irresistible, both in the streets and in the digital realm. Undoubtedly, art and culture are indispensable to organizing. But what about the artists themselves? And how about in the intermittent spaces where we can come together to reground in our goals and strategize?
I’ve been playing a small role in an arts committee that’s helping to shape Through the Portal: Growing the World We Want, a gathering of a thousand artists, activists, organizers, and scholars in Chicago on the weekend of September 20–22, 2024 (registration open now until it hits capacity). Spearheaded by the Social Justice Initiative (SJI) at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), this convergence culminates SJI’s Portal Project, a two-year, movement-driven symposium that has ignited debates, dialogue, and collective envisioning on critical questions of justice, power, solidarity and change.
A Call to Artists: At the end of this blog, I’m dropping a list of ways you can tap into Through the Portal. If you can’t attend in person, you can submit pre-existing artwork to be featured in the conference spaces. The deadline to submit is August 26.
Something I’ve learned in my 10+ years of both creating visual art and organizing with grassroots liberation movements is that in order to grow the world we want, artists and cultural workers cannot be afterthoughts in organizing strategies. As attacks on our communities across the globe continue to grow, our movements will be required to scale up our creative resistance. Beyond our productivity as late-night banner painters or mass producers of signage, artists can be key collaborators. Many of us can help design strategic, accessible, and innovative ways of mobilizing and organizing, especially in communities we’re part of. I’m looking forward to the cross-pollinating possibilities of this convergence of artists, scholars, activists, and organizers who don’t often get to be in conversation with each other, but who are deeply impacted and influenced by each other’s work.
The arts committee for Through the Portal is a small but mighty crew, convened by SJI’s Gallery and Arts Director, Lola Ogbara, former curator at Southside Arts Center. When I asked Lola why artists are integral to shaping a social justice conference, she said, “I am an arts administrator, but I’ve always maintained an arts practice myself. Art is not only my day job but my way of existing in the world. I believe the arts are integral to any social justice, especially ones that bridge people together and allow us to recognize that our struggles are similar in nature.”
Earlier this month on the tenth anniversary of the murder of Mike Brown and the subsequent Ferguson Uprising, Lola opened her latest curated exhibition, Echoes of Ferguson at the Chicago Justice Gallery. The exhibition features the work of photographers Devin Allen, Jen Everett, Kris Graves, Jon Henry, Alexis Hunley, and Joshua Rashaad McFadden, exploring themes of grief, memory, and resistance to state violence. The exhibition will be open during the conference with viewing hours to be determined, and on view through May of 2025.
Also on the arts committee is Natalia “Nati” Linares, co-founder of Art.coop, an organization that addresses inequality amongst artists and cultural workers by building a movement for a solidarity economy. Nati said, “I think oftentimes, arts and artists are thought about as entertainment or as the shiny objects at these sorts of gatherings. Artists tend not to be thought of as integral protagonists and contributors in organizing communities themselves. But they [artists] need housing, food, and care like anyone else. They [too] need justice and liberation from dominating structures in our political economy.”
The conference will have multiple breakout rooms on the three portal project issue areas: Economic Democracy, Climate Justice, and Abolition. Justseeds will be curating art in the Climate Justice room, Prison + Neighborhood Arts/Education Project will be curating art in the Abolition room, and Cooperation Racine, Wild Yams, and Black Roots Alliance will be collaborating on art curation in the Economic Democracy room.
Roxana Espoz, arts committee member, conference manager, and producer of Bill Ayer’s podcast, Under the Tree: A Seminar on Freedom, said: “We all know the saying ‘Another world is possible.’ But I think the closest I have come to glimpsing that world has come when participating in art builds or other similar community art projects. Trying to capture those moments and energy has been my motivation for wanting to include the arts as integral to this conference.”
- Submit Your Art
Through the Portal will incorporate artwork uplifting and envisioning the worlds we want. Artists are encouraged to submit pre-existing work in any style that imagines or is inspired by social justice movements like abolition, economic democracy, climate justice, feminism, and racial justice. The exhibition will be displayed for the duration of the 3-day conference, Sept 20–22, 2024. More details on specs, logistics, and guidelines in the submission form. Deadline to submit is Monday, August 26, 2024. - Watch the Artists’ Learning Series
To supplement the Call For Art and leading up to the conference, SJI’s Portal Project, Haymarket Books, Art.coop, and Artists for Radical Imagination are co-hosting three virtual informational sessions for artists and culture workers interested in exchanging with grassroots organizers. Watch the recording of the first session on economic democracy with Francisco Perez (Economics for Emancipation) and Camila Tapia-Guilliams (Transverse Cooperative) here; the second session on climate justice with Mark Chavez (Climate Justice Alliance) here; and catch the third and final session on abolition with Richie Reseda (Question Culture) here. - Attend the Gathering in Chicago
Early bird ticket sales just ended, but there’s still a tiered payment structure for people of all economic realities: Register here. If the registration fees still hinder your participation, please email info@throughtheportal2024.com for information on special waivers and discount codes. Although resources are limited, conference organizers want to ensure no one is left behind. Logistics for navigating COVID-19, community care, accessibility, hotels, and transportation are all on the conference website.If you already have your ticket, be sure to tap into the arts programming throughout the conference, including:
Friday, September 20
Poetic provocations with Eve L. Ewing and Aja Monet. Plus, a special dinner performance by Taína Asili, Jamila Woods, and Damon Williams. Limited space, sign up when you register for the conference.Saturday, September 21
Nothing Advances Without Art, a panel discussion with visual artist & cultural organizer Micah Bazant (Artists For Radical Imagination), author and professor Gina Dent (Visualizing Abolition), and cultural activist Lisa Lee (National Public Housing Museum), moderated by me—Monica Trinidad.Sunday, September 22
Art as a Site of Transformation, an incubator space for movement artists to scheme, grow our collective power, and make the “impossible” look irresistible! Note: This space is for Artists for Radical Imagination (ARI) members only, and is capped at 50 people maximum. If you are interested in attending, visit ARI’s website to learn more about the network and join.