The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs invites you to the next

Artist at Work Forum -

"Artists and Activism" --

on Thursday, February 17, 2005 at 6:00 p.m.

This free event will be held at the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington Street. It is presented as part of the photographic exhibition PANDEMIC: Imaging Aids currently on view at the Chicago Cultural Center through April 3.

Last year's presidential election motivated many artists to explore how their practice could play an activist role, and to question both what is effective and what is even important. Do contemporary artists play a significant role in activist causes and agendas, or is the activist impulse itself an artistic endeavor? In this forum, local artists who have been identified with radical practice will discuss the possibilities of engaging in the pursuit of change.

"Artists and Activism" will feature three perspectives on how creativity impacts social and political issues. Participants include representatives from Anti Gravity Surprise; Tom Tresser and the Creative America Project; and the personal and political investigations of AIDS activists Michael McColly and James Tuong Nguyen. Laura Samson, Director of the Alphawood Foundation, serves as moderator.

Founded in 2001 by artists Kathleen Duffy and Jennifer Karmin, Anti Gravity Surprise (AGS) is a public art collaborative that performs cultural research. Each year the Chicago group collaborates around one social issue, creating and exhibiting multimedia artwork. AGS creates public art in which dialogue is an integral part of the work itself. By using art as a vehicle to promote critical thinking, the general public becomes co-creators of AGS projects. Past projects include 2002's "Gathering Motion: Thought Is Action" (peace), 2003's "Second Shift: The Art Of Work" (work), and 2004's "$election: Take Us To Your Leader" (leadership).

Activist and actor Tom Tresser started the Creative America Project with the goal of inspiring and training artists and creative individuals to effectively organize and successfully run for office. Part Richard Florida, part Saul Alinsky, Tresser has held workshops and training road-shows throughout the Midwest.

Writer Michael McColly and photographer James Tuong Nguyen have traveled through India, Thailand and Vietnam meeting with and documenting the lives of many people with HIV/AIDS. They have presented their collaborative work at conferences and forums in and around Chicago. McColly is an award-winning author whose upcoming book, Parables of the Body, collapses the distance between these cultures and communities affected by the pandemic by way of the recording of a variety of personal stories of those infected and affected.

Artist at Work Forums present information on issues of concern for visual artists and are an opportunity for networking and discussion. The free, bi-monthly gatherings are funded by the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation. This program is presented as part of Brainstorm: Talking About Culture in the City, a series of lectures, intimate gallery talks, meet the artist sessions and more at the Chicago Cultural Center. For
more information on this event, call

312-744-6630 or visit www.chicagoculturalcenter.org.

Barbara Koenen
Project Manager
Office of Cultural Planning
Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs
312-744-7649
bkoenen (at) mindspring.com