Nick Tobier Presents STREETWORK at Open Engagement, Chicago

Stamps Assistant Professor Nick Tobier presented STREETWORK, a panel discussion about bringing artists and students to work in local communities, at Open Engagement 2017 Chicago.

STREETWORK will unpack the challenges, strategies, successes, and failures in bringing artists and students to work in local communities. This group of educators will discuss how they work with students on the ground, outside the classroom, to support local communities, and prepare students to be socially engaged citizens. Structured in a lively talk show format, panelists will be interviewed individually about their educational practice and remain on stage to respond to subsequent panelists.

Open Engagement (OE) is an annual artist-led conference dedicated to expanding the dialogue around and creating a site of care for the field of socially engaged art. The conference highlights the work of transdisciplinary artists, activists, students, scholars, community members, and organizations working within the complex social issues and struggles of our time.

Open Engagement 2017 — JUSTICE will take place April 21 – 23, 2017 at the University of Illinois at Chicago and a constellation of sites across the city. This year’s conference, guided by the curatorial vision of Romi Crawford and Lisa Yun Lee, will feature presenters including Theaster Gates, Maria Gaspar, Maria Varela, Ai-jen Poo, Marisa Jahn and Laurie Jo Reynolds.