Open House Chicago
Explore our new civic and cultural home on Chicago’s near West Side as part of Open House Chicago
Place, Space, Werkz Showcase
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Richard T. Crane Medical Prep High School 2245 W Jackson Blvd Chicago, IL 60612
- Free
- RSVP
Through Chicago Footwork, storytelling, reenactments, and other creative forms of expression and historical preservation, 2023–2024 NPHM Artist as Instigator Dr. ShaDawn “Boobie” Battle and the Place, Space, Werkz (PSW) crew highlight Chicago’s complex history of housing injustice and contribute to the ongoing resistance movement.
In the first act, PSW examines the “Violation of Black Homeplace” throughout time and space, from home invasions by so-called “slave patrols,” to the 1969 assassination of Chairman Fred Hampton Sr., to the state sanctioned violence faced by Anjanette Young in 2019 that continues to permeate Black homes through unjust police raids and “no-knock warrants,” a controversial practice that allows law enforcement to enter a property without knocking or announcing themselves first.
The second act, “Environmental Racism and Public Housing” addresses the toxic landfills, industrial facilities and polluted waterways that surround Altgeld Gardens Homes, a public housing project on the far south side of Chicago.
This culminating showcase of Battle’s residency project gives voice to the personal and collective histories of everyday Chicago residents and leverages arts and culture to highlight the need for new and innovative public policy solutions.
Stay tuned for the full cast and special guest announcements!
Our Partners
This event is part of Smithsonian’s Our Shared Future: Reckoning with Our Racial Past Initiative, as part of their National Conversation on Race series, and is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and Mellon Foundation.
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