Weight of a World
Images
Curator’s Note
Public Programs
Jul 13–Sep 15, 2018
In partnership with Facing History and Ourselves
Alison Ruttan, Deborah Stratman, Orkideh Torabi, with a program by Rebecca Keller
Weight of a World presents artworks that elicit lessons to be learned — and to be taught — from global conflict, local lore, and cultural identity. The exhibition comprises sculptures, paintings, film, and supplementary programming that pivot upon two vast, inextricable categories: history and identity. The works on view recognize the roles of individuals within the long arc of history: how we are formed by our contexts, and how we may impact what comes next.
Curator’s Note
Reportage is a genre of news unlike others. It is neither embedded (propagandistic) nor gonzoed (super-subjective) journalism. As I understand it, true reportage takes eyewitness as its point of view. Reportage recounts experience from within an event, by an event’s observer, and is intent on preserving the details to a T. The details—important as they are—begin to establish a border between fact and fiction, fidelity and revision. The exhibition responds to two vast categories: history and identity. The scale of which are often times rendered too massive in the imaginaries of the individuals that conceive them. Individuals often ask themselves: Where do I fit into history? What is my contribution to life? Amongst other personal inventories within hierarchies of force, power, and time, how can we rehumanize our imaginaries? Which microhistories and marginalized versions of ourselves have we been compelled to forget until now?
— Nabiha Khan-Giordano
Public Programs
Exhibition Dates
Jul 13–Sep 15, 2018
Opening Reception
Jul 13, 2018, 5–9PM
Discussion
Aug 2, 2018, 6–8PM
Facing Today: How LGBTQ History Can Inform and Empower Young People Today. Lavender Scare, the Stonewall Riots, Frank Kameny and Barbara Gittings are important events and people in the LGBTQ rights movement that are often left out of textbooks and curriculum. What happens when we are able to integrate the missing voices of LGBTQ people into our classrooms and communities? Panelists Include: Ramon Gardenhire, Vice President of Policy, AIDS Foundation of Chicago; Victor Salvo, Founder and Executive Director, The Legacy Project; Michael Ziri, Director of Public Policy, Equality Illinois.
Gathering
Aug 18, 2018, 10:30AM–12PM
Civic Saturdays bring communities together in a common place to nurture a spirit of shared purpose, wrestle with moral questions regarding what it means to be an American, develop a sense of civic character, and create new civic traditions that are joyful and communal.
Discussion
Aug 23, 2018, 6–8PM
What does it take to sustain democracy? Across the globe, political and social tensions, eroding trust in institutions, and rising incidents of hatred and bigotry make this question more essential than ever. Karen Murphy, Facing History’s Director of International Strategy and artist Alison Ruttan will lead a discussion for educators and community members on how we can navigate these challenges as engaged citizens of the world
Walkthrough
Sep 7, 2018, 6–8PM
Alison Ruttan and Orkideh Torabi lead a guided tour of the exhibition.
Public Presentation
Sep 14, 2018, 5–8PM
Remembrance/Resistance. Rebecca Keller, with the assistance of Claire Arctander, will guide the latest chapter in an ongoing series of Excavating History projects. Remembrance/Resistance is a public presentation of artworks that grapple with questions of history, in registers both intimate and expansive, by participating artists Jeanette Andrews, Jeremy Bolen, Jaclyn Jacunski, Jesse Malmed, Maggie Queeney, Patrick 'Q' Quilao, Alison Ruttan, Ruby T, and Stacy Tolbert.
Press
Partner
Facing History and Ourselves is an international educational organization that reaches millions of students worldwide every year. Using the lessons of history — and history in the making — Facing History equips teachers to provide students with the skills to think critically and wrestle with difficult issues. Teachers work closely with students to make personal connections between the past and their present. Our rigorous curriculum sparks the desire to look beyond themselves and participate in the broader world. We are creating future generations of engaged, informed, and responsible decision makers who when faced with injustice, misinformation, and bigotry, will stand up for justice, truth, and equality. Facing History transforms required lessons in history into inspired lessons in humanity to empower youth who will change the world for the better.
Weight of a World, installation views at Weinberg/Newton Gallery, 2018
Weight of a World
Images
Curator’s Note
Public Programs
Jul 13–Sep 15, 2018
In partnership with Facing History and Ourselves
Alison Ruttan, Deborah Stratman, Orkideh Torabi, with a program by Rebecca Keller
Weight of a World presents artworks that elicit lessons to be learned — and to be taught — from global conflict, local lore, and cultural identity. The exhibition comprises sculptures, paintings, film, and supplementary programming that pivot upon two vast, inextricable categories: history and identity. The works on view recognize the roles of individuals within the long arc of history: how we are formed by our contexts, and how we may impact what comes next.
Curator’s Note
Reportage is a genre of news unlike others. It is neither embedded (propagandistic) nor gonzoed (super-subjective) journalism. As I understand it, true reportage takes eyewitness as its point of view. Reportage recounts experience from within an event, by an event’s observer, and is intent on preserving the details to a T. The details—important as they are—begin to establish a border between fact and fiction, fidelity and revision. The exhibition responds to two vast categories: history and identity. The scale of which are often times rendered too massive in the imaginaries of the individuals that conceive them. Individuals often ask themselves: Where do I fit into history? What is my contribution to life? Amongst other personal inventories within hierarchies of force, power, and time, how can we rehumanize our imaginaries? Which microhistories and marginalized versions of ourselves have we been compelled to forget until now?
— Nabiha Khan-Giordano
Public Programs
Exhibition Dates
Jul 13–Sep 15, 2018
Opening Reception
Jul 13, 2018, 5–9PM
Discussion
Aug 2, 2018, 6–8PM
Facing Today: How LGBTQ History Can Inform and Empower Young People Today. Lavender Scare, the Stonewall Riots, Frank Kameny and Barbara Gittings are important events and people in the LGBTQ rights movement that are often left out of textbooks and curriculum. What happens when we are able to integrate the missing voices of LGBTQ people into our classrooms and communities? Panelists Include: Ramon Gardenhire, Vice President of Policy, AIDS Foundation of Chicago; Victor Salvo, Founder and Executive Director, The Legacy Project; Michael Ziri, Director of Public Policy, Equality Illinois.
Gathering
Aug 18, 2018, 10:30AM–12PM
Civic Saturdays bring communities together in a common place to nurture a spirit of shared purpose, wrestle with moral questions regarding what it means to be an American, develop a sense of civic character, and create new civic traditions that are joyful and communal.
Discussion
Aug 23, 2018, 6–8PM
What does it take to sustain democracy? Across the globe, political and social tensions, eroding trust in institutions, and rising incidents of hatred and bigotry make this question more essential than ever. Karen Murphy, Facing History’s Director of International Strategy and artist Alison Ruttan will lead a discussion for educators and community members on how we can navigate these challenges as engaged citizens of the world
Walkthrough
Sep 7, 2018, 6–8PM
Alison Ruttan and Orkideh Torabi lead a guided tour of the exhibition.
Public Presentation
Sep 14, 2018, 5–8PM
Remembrance/Resistance. Rebecca Keller, with the assistance of Claire Arctander, will guide the latest chapter in an ongoing series of Excavating History projects. Remembrance/Resistance is a public presentation of artworks that grapple with questions of history, in registers both intimate and expansive, by participating artists Jeanette Andrews, Jeremy Bolen, Jaclyn Jacunski, Jesse Malmed, Maggie Queeney, Patrick 'Q' Quilao, Alison Ruttan, Ruby T, and Stacy Tolbert.
Press
Partner
Facing History and Ourselves is an international educational organization that reaches millions of students worldwide every year. Using the lessons of history — and history in the making — Facing History equips teachers to provide students with the skills to think critically and wrestle with difficult issues. Teachers work closely with students to make personal connections between the past and their present. Our rigorous curriculum sparks the desire to look beyond themselves and participate in the broader world. We are creating future generations of engaged, informed, and responsible decision makers who when faced with injustice, misinformation, and bigotry, will stand up for justice, truth, and equality. Facing History transforms required lessons in history into inspired lessons in humanity to empower youth who will change the world for the better.
Weight of a World, installation views at Weinberg/Newton Gallery, 2018