Jane Addams birthday celebration features prison-reform activist

“Into Body Into Wall” performances will open the event.

The Jane Addams Hull-House Museum at the University of Illinois at Chicago invites all to commemorate the social reformer’s birthday with arts and discussions focusing on justice and prison reform.

WHAT:

The Jane Addams Birthday Conversations on Peace and Justice will feature prison abolitionist Mariame Kaba and an art installation by Maria Gaspar in the latest exhibition by 96 Acres, a community-based art series named for the size of the Cook County Jail.

WHERE:

Jane Addams Hull-House Museum, Residents’ Dining Hall
800 S. Halsted St.

WHEN:

Sept. 10, 5 – 8 p.m.  

DETAILS:

96 Acres divides the museum with a 160-foot-long curtain in its exhibition.

Addams, co-founder of the Hull-House Settlement, was a social reformer, internationalist, feminist, and the first American woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. On her birthday, the museum honors a contemporary feminist working on issues of peace. Previous speakers have included three-time Nobel nominee Kathy Kelly, Code Pink founder Medea Benjamin, community activist Grace Lee Boggs, American Indian activist Winona LaDuke, intersectional feminist bloggers The Crunk Feminist Collective, and transgender rights and prison activist Miss Major Griffin-Gracy.

Schedule:

5 – 6:30 p.m.

“Into Body Into Wall”

Performances will be led by artists Patricia Nguyen and Luis Tubens throughout the museum. DJ Tess spins Slo’Mo-style jams. Birthday cupcakes for all.

6:30 – 6:45 p.m.

Art talk by 96 Acres

Hear the artists describe their installation at Hull-House and how they use art and collective actions to investigate the Cook County Jail wall as a social, political and psychological frame, imagine new alternatives, and grapple with the personal stories on both sides of the wall.

6:45 – 7:30 p.m.

Mariame Kaba on “Punishing Girls: The Rise of Girls in the Juvenile Justice System”

As an organizer, educator and curator, Kaba has been a voice in social movements for prison abolition, racial and gender justice, and transformative justice. She is the founder and director of Project NIA, a grassroots organization working to end youth incarceration. She co-founded many organizations, including the Chicago Freedom School and the Chicago Taskforce on Violence against Girls and Young Women.

7:30 – 8 p.m.

Spoken-word performance by Young Chicago Authors

Young Chicago Authors brings together participants for civic discourse and community celebration. Performers will conclude the evening with rhymes and stories of resistance.

Admission is free, but reservations are required. For information, call (312) 413-5353.