ShaDawn Battle
Meet 2023-2024 Artist as Instigator ShaDawn “Boobie” Battle
ShaDawn “Boobie” Battle is a multidisciplinary artist, researcher, activist, and educator whose work spans mediums including documentary films, performances, and public talks. ShaDawn is currently directing and producing a docuseries titled “Footwork Saved My Life: The Evolution of Chicago Footwork.” A South Side of Chicago native, Battle now splits her time between Cincinnati and Chicago. She is an Assistant Professor of Critical Ethnic and Black Studies at Xavier University.
Place, Space, Werkz
For her residency, ShaDawn is creating, Place, Space, Werkz, a multi-dimensional project that weaves together oral histories and scholarship about the evolution of Chicago Footwork dance through workshops, creative placemaking, and performances that examine the art form in relation to oppressive systems, practices, and structures.
ShaDawn BattleI want my work to always be tethered to the material realities of culture and the city I come from.
ShaDawn was interviewed by Block Club Chicago, along with our Associate Director Tiff Beatty. In the article, journalist Atavia Reed writes, “Battle will use the year-long residency at the museum to create Place, Space, and Werkz, a three-phase project involving educational workshops, site visits, archival records from the museum and creative expression to examine the Chicago Footwork dance community as it relates to social inequities and oppressive systems.” Read the full article. ShaDawn also sat down with WBEZ to discuss what Chicago Footwork can teach us about public housing communities. Listen to the full segment!
Footwork saved my life shirt
This limited edition t-shirt is stylish, comfortable, and ready to hit the dance floor! As a part of our collaboration with the Corner Store Co-op’s partnership with us, we’re so excited that this shirt is available for pre-order now. Corner Store Co-op partners with youth, artists, designers, and entrepreneurs from public housing communities to offer custom clothing, books, handmade accessories, and limited edition zines.
How it started
ShaDawn kicked off her residency with an online artist talk. During the event, ShaDawn shared examples of her past work as well as her vision for her residency. Members of the Chicago Footwork community, including an intergenerational group of dancers, choreographers and DJ’s from across the Chicagoland area chimed in with their own musings, memories, and stories.