We, Women Chicago Grand Opening + Tonika Johnson Artist Talk

We, Women: The Power of We
June 4 – September 30, 2022
The Bloomingdale Trail at the 606 (St. Louis Overlook)

Grand Opening: Saturday, June 18 at 1:30pm

We, Women: The Power of We, a FREE outdoor community art exhibition, will launch in Chicago on The Bloomingdale Trail at The 606, at the St. Louis Overlook. This exhibition, created by We, Women, highlights 18 impactful socially engaging projects which examine crucial issues on the minds of many Americans: immigration, education, climate change, race, motherhood and family, healthcare, religion, criminal justice reform, gentrification, sexual assault, and more. The photographic display comprises 380 feet of imagery that will reach tens of thousands of people through its summer run.

Join us for the exhibition’s grand opening will take place on Saturday, June 18th, on The 606 (St. Louis overlook), with an afternoon of programming starting at 1:30 pm. The day’s final event will feature a gallery talk by Chicago-based social justice artist Tonika Lewis Johnson. 

The full schedule is below:

• 1:30-2:30 – Family program featuring sun prints project. Please feel free to bring small objects to use on your prints or use some of ours.  For more info visit sunprints.org
• 2:30 – 3:30 – Dance and music performance featuring AfriCaribe, a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation, research, promotion, and development of Puerto Rican and Caribbean cultures through music, dance, theater, and other artistic media.
• 3:45-4:15 – Gallery talk featuring Tonika Lewis Johnson
  Tonika Lewis Johnson is a photographer, social justice artist, and life-long resident of Chicago’s South Side neighborhood of Englewood. She is also co-founder of the Englewood Arts Collective and Resident Association of Greater Englewood, which seek to reframe the narrative of South Side communities and mobilize people and resources for positive change. Tonika’s art often explores urban segregation, documenting the nuance and richness of the black community to counter media depictions of Chicago’s violence.

In case of inclement weather, programming will take place at the Kimball Arts Center.

The complete list of artists included in the Chicago exhibition are below:

• Sol Aramendi – New York: Immigration

• Katie Basile – Alaska: Climate Change

• Cinthya Santos Briones – New Jersey: Immigration and Detention

• Koral Carballo, Anita Pouchard Serra, Jessica Ávalos – Washington, DC Metro Area: Migration

• Deborah Espinosa – Washington State: Criminal Justice & Class

• Annie Flanagan + Ashley Teamer – Louisiana: Representation in Sports

• Tailyr Irvine – Montana: Indigenous Rights

• Tonika Johnson – Chicago, Illinois: Segregation, Inequality & Race

• Ericka Jones-Craven – Georgia: Religious Tolerance, Sexuality & Gender

• Stacy Kranitz – Tennessee: Rural Healthcare

• Muna Malik – Minnesota: Immigration & Religious Freedom

• Bethany Mollenkof – Alabama: Maternal Health

• Rosem Morton – Maryland: Sexual Assault

• Rowan Renee – Florida: Criminal Justice, Gender, & Sexuality

• Kameelah Janan Rasheed – California: Community Change & Preservation of Local Histories

• Karen Miranda Rivadeneira – Seneca Nation in Salamanca and Cattaraugus: Water Preservation

• Mayela Rodriguez – Michigan: Latinx Communities & Political Participation

• Arin Yoon – Kansas: Military Families & War

The work will be displayed along the Bloomingdale Trail at The 606 at the St. Louis Overlook. Please check www.nightoutintheparks.com for additional information.

The We, Women: The Power of We exhibition and ope is presented as part of the Chicago Park District’s Night Out in the Parks series and in collaboration between We, Women, Photoville, APA Chicago, Chicago Park District, and the Friends of the Bloomingdale Trail.