The legendary “Swans of Harlem” ballerinas take the stage with Brandis Friedman (co-anchor, WTTW Chicago Tonight / host, Black Voices) and author Karen Valby to reclaim and lift up the trailblazing contributions to the dance world by these Black artists whose stories have been marginalized, devalued and forgotten by history. Stay after the chat for […]

Renowned Princeton University professor and New York Times best-selling author Eddie Glaude Jr. is one of the world’s most prominent scholars of African American Studies. Through the iconic interpretations of Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and Ella Baker, Glaude Jr. urges fellow Black Americans to focus on personal growth and individual empowerment to reshape […]

Frank Bruni, renowned New York Times columnist, guides Chicago Humanities on an incisive exploration of our cultural obsession with grievance that has permeated both political spectrums. Grievance dominates our unpredictable political landscape as all sides label disappointment or dissent as personal injury, fueling blame and rage. In his latest work, The Age of Grievance, Bruni […]

MacArthur Fellow and Professor of Photography at Columbia College in Chicago, Dawoud Bey, is one of the most celebrated photographers in American history. Fellow photography colleague Kelli Connell is an artist who investigates sexuality, gender, identity, and the relationship between photographer and subject. Natasha Egan, Executive Director at the Museum of Contemporary Photography, moderates a […]

Michael Ondaatje is one of the most influential writers of his generation. He won the Booker Prize for his successful 1992 novel The English Patient, which was made into the nine-time Academy Award-winning film, including for Best Picture. Critically respected for testing the limits of the genre of poetry with playful experimentation, Ondaatje makes a […]

What guardrails do artists need in a new age of artificial intelligence? As artists voice concerns about AI replacing their work or using their creative intellectual property to train AI models without proper consent or compensation, lawmakers are beginning to take notice. The essence of this debate — what artists seek and how regulations should […]

Judith Butler’s groundbreaking work, and their theory of gender performativity, has had a vast influence on contemporary scholarship in feminism and gender studies. In Butler’s latest work, Who’s Afraid of Gender?, they tackle the global rise of right-wing movements that seek to nullify reproductive justice, undermine protections against sexual and gender violence and strip trans […]

Cultural historian and video gaming specialist, Dr. Carly Kocurek from Illinois Tech Lewis College of Science and Letters moderates a discussion with game and interactive experience designer Caro Murphy. Caro is leading the vanguard in the emerging field and art form of interactive, experiential, and live-action game design. Caro has produced award-winning work as the […]