Ink as Witness: Chicago Printmaking Collectives, Alternative Media, & the Politics of Social Justice.

Join the Social Justice Initiative at UIC on Friday, Sept. 25 from 6-8 p.m. for the opening reception of our new exhibition, Ink as Witness: Chicago Printmaking Collectives, Alternative Media, & the Politics of Social Justice.

“Ink as Witness: examines how contemporary artist collectives carry forward the enduring social, political, and collaborative traditions of printmaking in Chicago. Inspired by the legacies of Robert Blackburn, Margaret Burroughs and Carlos Cortez, the exhibition positions today’s collectives as direct descendants of a history in which printmaking functioned as an artistic practice, a means of collective action and a vehicle for alternative media. Across generations, artists have turned to print not simply to produce images, but to build communities, circulate information, preserve histories and create accessible platforms for voices often excluded from institutional narratives.

At our opening reception, we will also debut our growing Chicago Justice Gallery library, featuring books and zines that highlight the histories, movements, and alternatives to mainstream media that connect in different ways to themes in the prints featured in this exhibition. Stay a while and read with us.

Participating collectives and artists include:

Instituto Gráfico de Chicago

• Carlos Barberena
• Alex Velázquez Brightbill
• Salvador Jiménez
• Atlan Arceo-Witzl

Chicago Printers Guild

• Ben Blount
• Nia F.G. Easley
• Eric Von Haynes
• Angela Davis Fegan

JustSeeds Artists’ Cooperative

• William Estrada
• Aaron Hughes

We hope to see you on Friday, Sept. 25, at our opening reception!

RSVP today.