A R E A

~~~~~~~~~ AREA Chicago's "Another Chicago" Newsletter April 2008 ~~~~~~~~~ :::April Summary:::Fwd To Your People:::You Never Who Knows What::: AREA Chicago is wishing you a happy and active April 08. We have just moved into a new office in the historic Congress Theater building. We are happy to be sharing the space with the arts and ideas organization "Incubate" who do fantastic project such as the Sunday Soup series where you can buy cheap delicious soup every week and then the profits go into a grant fund for your projects. Check them out and stop by sometime and say hello! Also, please look out for our announcements about future projects and blogs and a presentation about AREA Chicago at the Finding Our Roots conference (see below) at Roosevelt University April 18-20. * 01) 03.02-06 - Goat Island Performance Group's final show after 20 years * 02) 03.02 Wed - Advicates for Urban Agriculture Potluck Dinner * 03) 04.03 Thu - Heat Wave play continues for last weekend * 04) 04.03Thu - Discussion: Anarchist Labor Organizing in Spain @ Messhall * 05) 04.04 Fri - Insight Arts Fundraiser @ Funky Buddah * 06) 04.04 Fri - Benefit for new 61st St Farmers Market @ Exp Station - Our friends and Fiscal Sponsor - See the article about ES in AREA #1 * 07) 04.04 Fri (ongoing through may 11)- Theater Oobleck play - The Stranger * 08) 04.05 Sat - France 1968 Panel @ NWRC * 09) 04.07 Mon - Community Justice for Youth - Poetry and reflection event Event - with AREA#4 Editor Ryan Hollon * 10) 04.10 Thu - Labor and Ecology Discussion and Potluck @ Messhall * 11) 04.11 Fri - Release Event for "Finding Food in Chicago and the Suburbs" Report - A 4 year Research Project by AREA#2 Contributor Danny Block * 11) 04.11 Fri- Umoja School Annual Fundraiser * 12) 04.12 Sat - Co-Op Image Fundraiser @ Q4 - AREA#2 Contributors * 13) 04.17 Thu - Screening of video art about prisons @ Gene Siskel Center * 14) 04.17 Thu - Versionfest Begins with Networking Fair on April 18-20 * 15) 04.18-20 Finding Our Roots: Anarchist Organizing in the Midwest @ Roosevelt * 16) 04.19 Sar - Black Tie, Black Flag - Anarchist Formal Dance * 17) 04.19 Sat- Nicole Garneau's Uprising Project #4 - Contributor to AREA #2 * 18) 04.26 Sat - Green and Growing Fair @ Garfield Park Conservatory * 19) 04.26 Sat - Teach In About Prison Industrial Complex with contributors to AREA#4 * 20) 04.28 Mon - Public Hearings about Closing Tamms Supermax Prison * 21) 04.29 Tue - "Torture in the Era of Democracy" Lecture @ Northwestern * 22) 05.01 Thu - The Wobblies and 1968 on May Day @ Newberry Library * 23) 05.02 Chicago Anarchist Film Festival April Details 01) Goat Island's Final Show THE LASTMAKER April 2, 3, 5, 6 7:30pm Cost:20-24 Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago 220 E Chicago Avenue mcachicago.org We end Goat Island in order to make a space for the unknown that will follow. We intend this ending to present itself as a beginning, and we invite you to join us on the occasion. goatislandperformance.org ROUNDTABLE Friday, April 4 at 2:00pm free Gene Siskel Film Center 164 N. State Street artic.edu/webspaces/siskelfilmcenter Ensemble members are joined by art historian Claire Bishop for a discussion about the significance of architecture, art, and theology addressed in Goat Island's work, and the group's decision, after more than 20 years of practice, to create a last performance. WEB-BASED WRITING PROJECT The Last Performance is created to evolve alongside the creation and performance of The Lastmaker. The work is being collectively authored by Goat Island, invited artists and critics, the Goat Island community at large, and you. thelastperformance.org 02) April 2 (Wed) 5:30pm AUA (Advocates for Urban Agriculture) Spring Meeting at Garfield Park Conservatory, Potluck, bring a dish to share 03) Thursday April 3-6th Every Night Heat wave Play Tickets Cost:17-25 Thursday through Saturday at 8:00 pm Sunday at 3:00 pm For more information call (773) 878-9761or see Based on the book Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago by Eric Klinenberg, this moving new play looks at the heat wave of 1995 which took the lives of 739 Chicagoans. More people died in our city than in New Orleans or Mississippi during Hurricane Katrina. Could it have been prevented? Who was listening? The play examines one of the country's worst weather-related disasters from all perspectives, creating a vivid portrait of a city in crisis, but with its resources and humanity firmly intact.Heat Wave tells the story no one wanted to listen to. Come join us for an evening of exploration and healing as we struggle to make sure nothing like this ever happens again. Directed by Ilesa Duncan 04) Apr 3, Thu, 7:30 pm, Mess Hall, 6932 N Glenwood ANARCHO-SYNDICALISM & SHIPYARD RESISTANCE: THE CNT IN PUERTO REAL, SPAIN. Part of Work Against Work series Sponsor: 49th St. Underground, Finding Our Roots, Industrial Workers of the World 05) On Friday April 4, Insight Arts presents: JAMNESTY an Amnesty International / Insight Arts Benefit @ FUNKY BUDDHA LOUNGE 728 W. Grand Ave. Chicago, IL 60610 Dancers, Music, Spoken Word, Live Art, & More 06) The Experimental Station cordially invites you to a fundraising benefit for the 61ST STREET FARMERS MARKET that will take place at the Experimental Station, 6100 S. Blackstone Avenue, on Friday, April 4, from 5-8pm. This community endeavor, organized under the auspices of the Experimental Station, an Illinois non-profit, aims to create an oasis in our local 'food desert' by establishing a weekend farmers market at 61st Street and Dorchester Avenue that will serve the Woodlawn, Hyde Park, Kenwood, and South Shore neighborhoods. The market is scheduled to begin this spring and will take place on Saturdays from May 17 thru October 25. As a non-City-sponsored market, we are working to establish a strong and dedi- cated base of community volunteers, financial supporters, and market-goers. We invite you to become a part of this effort by attending this benefit event! The evening will feature emcee Theaster Gates, music by the Josh Abrams Quartet, hors d'ouvres and beverages, wine tastings by Damien Casten of sustainably produced Candid Wines, bread baking and other food demon-strations, raffles of regionally and sustainably grown foods and products, and the opportunity to become a Founding Member of the 61st Street Farmers Market. We are delighted that the Honorable Alderman Willie B. Cochran and other local and state representatives will be in attendance.We look forward to an entertaining, food-filled, community- building evening and hope that you will be a part of it! Note: Dorchester Avenue is currently closed to vehicular traffic for construction between 60th and 61st Street. If driving, please take Woodlawn Avenue south to 61st Street and then east to 6100 S. Blackstone. For more information about the event, please email info@experimentalstation.org. Advance tickets Cost:20, tickets at the door will be Cost:25. 07) Theater Oobleck Presents Mickle Maher's The Strangerer re-opens on Friday and runs through May 11 Thurs/Fri/Sat at 8pm Sundays at 3pm at the Chopin Theatre 1543 W. Division Street Cost:10 suggested donation. More if you've got it. Free if you're broke. For more info or to reserve seats see theateroobleck.com "It is funny, it is beyond brilliant. it's the best piece you'll see this year about American politics, the news business, or existentialism." WBEZ, critic's pick of the week 08) Saturday, April 5, 4 PM PRELUDE TO REVOLUTION: MAY-JUNE 1968 IN FRANCE Panelists: Michael Lowy, Joanna Misnik, William A. Pelz Forty years ago, poetry ruled the streets. Join us as we examine this remarkable chapter of 20th century history, and reflect on how May-June 1968 has influenced contemporary social justice movements in Chicago and around the world. Michael Lowy, born in Brazil, has lived in France since the 1960s. He is emeritus research director in sociology at the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) in Paris. A prolific author of many books in several languages, his publications include: The Theory of Revolution in the Young Marx (2005), Fire Alarm: Reading Walter Benjamin's On the Concept of History (2005), The Marxism of Che Guevara (1970), Marxism and Liberation Theology (1988) Romanticism Against the Tide of Modernity (2001), Erlösung und Utopie. Judischer Messianismus und libertares Denken (2002), Capital contre nature (2003), Politics of Combined and Uneven Development (1987), Dialectica Y Revolucion: Ensayos de sociologia e historia del marxismo (1983), Fatherland or Mother Earth? Essays on the National Question (1998), Marxism in Latin America from 1909 to the Present: An Anthology (1992), and many others. Joanna Misnik was expelled from France for her trade union and political activism. A life-long anti-war and labor union militant, she is a member of SEIU Local 73. Historian Dr. William A. Pelz is the author of Against Capitalism: The European Left on the March (2007), The Spartkusbund and the German Working Class Movement (1988), and Wilhelm Liebknecht and German Social Democracy (1994). He also edited the recently re-issued Eugene V. Debs Reader (2000, 2007). Bill's articles and book reviews have appeared in the American Historical Review, International Labor and Working Class History, German History, Sozialismus, JahrBuch fuar Forschungen zur Geschichte der Arbeiterbewegung, and International Labor History Yearbook, among others. This public forum is co-sponsored by Open University of the Left, the Chicago Socialist Party, Solidarity-Chicago Chapter, Democratic Socialists of America-Chicago, and the New World Resource Center. Info: openuniversityoftheleft.org 09) Steppenwolf Garage Theater 1624 N. Halsted April 7th 2008, 7pm to 8:30pm Cost:20 at the Door. Space is limited please RSVP to Ryan Hollon 312/860-0097 or Sylvia Ewing 312/654-5633 Poetic performances for peace & power - to benefit the the Community Justice for Youth Insititute. Come ready to relax and reflect with: Kuumba Lynx, the winners of the 2008 Louder Than A Bomb Poetry Festival, songs from Avery R Young, and Hip Hop artist Jeff Baraka, Drumming and spoken word from Keith Kelley, plus Sylvia Ewing, Ryan Hollon, and many others committed to bringing community-led justice to Chicago's blocks. And: Hear the hidden truth about youth justice in a discussion with Xavier Bey . 10) Thursday, April 10, 2008 7:30p-10:00p @ Mess Hall, 6932 N Glenwood Work Against Work: The Labor of Ecology Potluck followed by 3 presentations. Bring something to share. This is a continuation in a series exploring the changing nature of work in our time and in history. All events approach work as a complex activity thru which we may be utterly debased or magnificently elevated; thru which we may destroy the world or revolutionize it. Texts to be discussed are available online at 49underground.org/nextevents.php_. Attendees are not expected to read all the articles, but please come prepared to discuss what you are able to read. The series is co-organized by the 49th Street Underground (49underground.org), Finding Roots (mayfirst.wordpress.com) and members of the Industrial Workers of the World (iww.org) 11) Finding Food in Chicago and the Suburbs Chicago State University, Academic Library Auditorium 9501 S. Martin Luther King Dr., Chicago, IL 60628 US When: Friday, April 11, 9:15AM Please come to Finding Food in Chicago, the release of the final results of the Northeastern Illinois Community Food Assessment. We will have a light breakfast beginning at 9:15, followed by speakers and discussion from 10:00 until 11:45. Parking passes will be provided for those who RSVP. Chicago State is located at 95th St. and King Dr. We are about 1/2 mile east of the 95th St. Red Line stop. You may also take the 95E bus from the station. The Metra Electric Line also stops at 95th, directly east of campus. Service is infrequent but there is a train from both the south and north stopping at CSU at 9:40. You must tell the conductor you wish to get off at 95th or the train will not stop. Driving from the north, take the Dan Ryan to 95th St., exit and take a left and then look for the gate on the right after King Dr. You may also take Stony Island to 95th and turn right. The gate will be on the left after Cottage Grove. From the south, take I-94 to Stony Island, take a left at 95th and then look for the gate after Cottage Grove. The library is located on the north end of campus. It is the large, new building. The auditorium is on the 4th Floor (there will be signs). For more information, please contact Daniel Block at findingfood@sbcglobal.net. This is the largest food access study ever completed in the Chicago region. It includes results of a mapping (GIS) study led by Dr. Daniel Block of Chicago of access to independent and chain supermarkets in the entire six county region, as well as other food access sites such as chain convenience stores and food pantries. In addition, Dr. Noel Chavez of UIC will present the results of a "market basket study" of food availability and price at stores in five Chicago communities. Finally, Dr. Judy Birgen will present the results of a door-to-door hunger and food access study completed in three Chicago communities. The Northeastern Illinois Community Food Assessment is funded by the Searle Funds at the Chicago Community Trust. Dissemination of results is funded by the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation through the Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children at Children's Memorial Hospital. 12) Umoja School Spring Fling and Silent Auction Friday, April 11, 2008 6-930pm @ Galleria Marchetti 825 W. Erie, Chicago (valet parking available) Umoja Student Development Corporation was formed in 1997 to link the educational efforts of Manley Career Academy High School to the broader community and to serve as an advocate for young people. 6:00-7:00 pm Cooking demonstration with Chef Julius & open bar, dinner and auction to follow. 6:30-9:30 pm Drinks, Buffet Dinner, Silent and Live Auction. Silent Auction closes at 9:30 pm. How to Purchase: Tickets can be purchased by credit card through PayPal via umojacorporation.org/NewsandEvents/2008spring_fling.htm, or by sending a check payable to Umoja Student Development Corporation to: Umoja Student Development Corporation 2935 West Polk, Room 116 Chicago, IL 60612. Regular Ticket: Cost:46.60 (includes Cost:1.60 processing fee), Cost:55 at the door VIP Ticket - Cooking demonstration with Chef Julius: Cost:103.20 (includes Cost:3.20 processing fee), Cost:110 at the door umojacorporation.org/news_events.htm 13) Back 2 Basics - Coop Image Group Spring Fundraiser @ 2716 W North Ave 9pm-12pm w/ Live hiphop coopimage.org or jessica@coopimage.org for more info 14) 4/17-Thursday-6PM. Gene Siskel Film Center co-sponsored between Tamms Year Ten and the Campaign to End the Death Penalty You Don't Remember The Time You Do: Moments in the Lives of Prisoners Space Ghost by Laurie Jo Reynolds and In Loving Memory by Rob Todd. With exciting special guests! 164 N. State St, Chicago IL 60601 Program Description Prison has long been a popular setting for motion pictures, from the oft-remade Man in the Iron Mask to recent Oscar-nominated hits Dead Man Walking and The Shawshank Redemption. Rarer is the film that examines the prison system's complicated impact on individuals, families, and communities. Artists Laurie Jo Reynolds and Robert Todd take on this challenge in a pair of lyrical essays on the experiences of incarcerated men and women. Weaving together pop cultural imagery and prison phone conversations, Reynolds' collage-like Space Ghost (2007) explores confinement and isolation in the lives of astronauts and the imprisoned. Todd's In Loving Memory (2005) juxtaposes the reflections of prisoners on their lives with haunting landscape shots of prisons around the country, in a moving meditation on memory and a compelling critique of the death penalty. Presented as part of a series of events organized by the Tamms Year Ten Campaign, marking the ten-year anniversary of the Tamms C-MAX prison in Tamms, Illinois. (2005-07, various directors, USA, multiple formats, ca 90 min.) 15) Version08 DARK MATTER April 17 - APRIL 27 2008 see versionfest.org for more information Saturday, April 19 and Sunday, April 20: LUMPEN MAGAZINE PRESENTS: Version08 Festival's NFO XPO Door time: Saturday 1pm to 2am @ The Viaduct Theater3111 N. Western Ave. Sunday 1pm - 2am Ticket price: Cost:8 for each day or Cost:10 for two -day The NFO XPO (pronounced info expo) brings art groups, community organizations and artists together to exchange information and ideas as well as provide a public platform for each group to present themselves. We view it as a trade show for experimental art, emerging spaces, and radical exchange. It's our version of what an art fair should be. It's a big part of Version Festival, our annual convergence. The NFO XPO features booths with artist and gallery projects, installations, interactive works, science fair style exhibits and more. The NFO XPO also features talks presentations, video screenings, performances and live music. 16) April 18-20, 2008 Finding Our Roots is a yearly conference in Chicago to discuss anarchist theory and action. The next conference is planned for April 18-20, 2008 and will focus on Anarchist Organizing in the Midwest. There will be a presentation about AREA Chicago as a local networking/research tool at this year's conference. mayfirst.wordpress.com/ 17) Black Tie, Black Flag Formal Dance and Party Organized by Chicago Anarchist Film Fest in conjunction with the Finding Our Roots Conference mayfirst.wordpress.com/ 7pm-1230am @ 2328 N Milwaukee 18) Nicole Garneau's UPRISING #4 takes place during Version>08 on Saturday, April 19 around 10pm at The Viaduct Theater3111 N. Western Ave. UPRISING: monthly performance project 2008 nicolegarneau.com/UPRISING.html 19) April 26 (Sat) 10am-4pm Green and Growing Fair, Garfield Park Conservatory 20) 4/26-Saturday-11AM to 4PM. Freedom School Communiversity All day education on the prison industrial complex. Participants will write letters to Tamms prisoners. 719 S. State St., Suite 3N, Chicago IL 60605 21) 4/28-Monday-10AM-3PM. HEARINGS ABOUT TAMMS C-MAX Save the date and please be part of our public press event at 3pm. Definitely check the website for more specific details. YearTen.org House Prison Reform Committee of the Illinois General Assembly James R. Thompson Center, 100 W. Randolph, Chicago IL 60601 22) 4/29-Tuesday-4PM to 5:30PM. Northwestern University lecture Center for International and Comparative Studies series: Torture in the Era of Democracy Ex-prisoner Akkeem Berry and attorney Jean Maclean Snyder will speak about Tamms as Torture. Moderated by Professor Stephen F. Eisenman. Northwestern University, BCSIS conference room 1902 Sheridan Road, Evanston IL 60208 (free parking behind the building) 23) Thursday, May 1, 2008, 6pm At the Newberry Library Celebrate May Day The WOBBLIES: Memory & Model, An Event about the IWW, the Industrial Workers of the World, two activists from 1968 Franklin & Penelope Rosemont and David Roediger & Leon M. Despres will speak. At the Newberry Library, 60 West Walton Street, Chicago IL 60626 Featuring noted historians and speakers, including David Roediger, Leon M. Despres, and Franklin & Penelope Rosemont, this special event celebrates the comprehensive IWW Collection (books, pamphlets, periodicals, photographs, and other items) now open to the public. This collection at Newberry is the only major collection of historic IWW material available in Chicago, the city in which the union began, and in which it maintained its headquarters for some eighty years. Roediger will speak on the 1886-87 Haymarket events, the origins of May Day and its influence on the IWW. Leon Despres will speak on the IWW's impressive traditions of Free Speech (The 1918 infamous trial of 101 Wobblies and their imprisonment was also a Chicago event). Franklin Rosemont will relate his adventures as a young IWW organizer hitchhiking across the country meeting and talking with old Wobblies in the 1960s, and its activities in 1968. Penelope Rosemont will speak about the IWW's legendary Solidarity Bookshop in Lincoln Park, in that same decade, and the later role of such old-time Wobblies as Fred Thompson, Jack Sheridan, Carlos Cortez, and Jenny Lahti Velsek in revitalizing the Chicago's Charles H. Kerr Company, the world's oldest working class publishing house. Contact Information: Rachel Bohlmann 312-255-3665 or Mary Janzen 312-255-3593janzenm@newberry.org Franklin Rosemont 773-465-7774 or 773-262-1329 arcane@ripco.com 24) Friday May 2nd Chicago Anarchist Film Festival Thank your customer, tell them how valuable they are to you, but don't go overboard. Insincerity is easy to spot. mayfirst.wordpress.com/