Week of August 22nd, 2021
"Mobilize! Creative Blocks, Collective Dreams" in Washington Park & Bronzeville
This summer, the Mobilize Creative Collaborative presents “Mobilize! Creative Blocks, Collective Dreams”: a series of weeklong community gatherings, happening outdoors in five neighborhoods on Chicago’s South and Southwest Sides, co-designed with a team of partner artists and partner organizers who are also rooted in these places. The Washington Park gathering is offered in collaboration with Creative Grounds and Alternatives, Inc., and with additional support from Chicago Park District.
Neighbors of ALL AGES are invited to FREE creative workshops, critical conversations, and playful explorations focused around justice and your dreams for your communities. With participatory music, art, and theater activities, live performances, skill-sharing, and more, we hope to amplify and connect existing local efforts, as well as to cultivate spaces that center imagination, joy, and people-led solutions.
Locations
(Former) Anthony Overton Elementary School (221 E. 49th St.)
Washington Park (5531 S. King Dr.; we will be just south of the fieldhouse)
Washington Park Schedule
Events are drop-in (participants are welcomed to come and go throughout), unless noted otherwise (for starred* events, please try to be there for the beginning). All workshop materials are provided.
Sunday, August 22nd, from 2-6pm
At (former) Anthony Overton Elementary School (221 E. 49th St.), through Creative Grounds
Theme: What does HEALING look like for my community?
2-6pm – Various drop-in creative workshops/experiences
2-5pm – Family Portraits
3-5pm – Poetry workshop; Open Mic
Tuesday, August 24th, from 4-8pm
At Washington Park (5531 S. King Dr.)
Theme: What does SAFETY look like for my community?
4-8pm – Various drop-in creative workshops/experiences
4-6pm – *Performance/Voice lessons with Hyde Park School of Music Instructor
4-6pm – Design/Build Activation
Time TBD: Restorative Justice Circle w/ Alternatives, Inc.
Wednesday, August 25th, from 4-8pm
At Washington Park (5531 S. King Dr.)
Theme: What does LOVE look like for my community?
4-8pm – Various drop-in creative workshops/experiences
4-6pm – Englewood Massages
5:30-7pm – Wellness Resources
Thursday, August 26th, from 4-8pm
At Washington Park (5531 S. King Dr.)
Theme: What does JUSTICE look like for my community?
4-8pm – Various drop-in creative workshops/experiences
4-6pm – *Re-Writing The Declaration Workshop
6-7pm – Poetry Workshop; African Dance
7-8pm – Mini Open Mic; Yoga
Saturday, August 28th, from 2-6pm
At (former) Anthony Overton Elementary School (221 E. 49th St.), through Creative Grounds
Theme: What does JOY look like for my community?
2-6pm – Various drop-in creative workshops/experiences
2-4pm – Group Game/Play time
2-5pm – Screen Printing
4-6pm – Live Band and Open Mic
Accessibility
All events will be in English. Overton and the park have paved paths and wheelchair-accessible bathrooms. Events will take place on flat grass surfaces and/or concrete. Contact us through www.mobilizecreative.com with any questions or requests about access needs/accommodations.
Meet the Washington Park Team
Quenna Lené Barrett | Social Justice theater artist, educator and facilitator
Quenna Lené Barrett is a theater artist + practitioner, whose work gathers folks of diverse backgrounds, centers marginalized identities, learns from Black radical wisdom, and then dreams collectively to act boldly through those learnings. She is the Associate Director of Education and Engagement at the Goodman Theatre, a company member with ICAH’s For Youth Inquiry company, an Associate Artist with Pivot Arts, an adjunct professor at DePaul University, and a member of the leadership circle of the Center for Performance and Civic Practice. Quenna received her BFA from NYU Tisch Drama, MA in Applied Theatre from the USC, and is an EdD candidate in Educational Theatre at NYU Steinhardt. She has worked with Chicago Children’s Theatre, Sojourn Theatre, The Theatre School at DePaul, Free Street, Pegasus, Court, eta, and Theater Unspeakable. Continuing to build the world she wants to see/live in, her most recent project was Re-writing the Declaration.
IG | @quennalene , FB | QuennaLene
Christina Armstrong | Program Director, Independent Artist, Circle Keeper, Entrepreneur
Christina Armstrong is a lifelong Southside Chicago resident. She is currently the Program Director of Mentorship & Compliance at Public Allies Chicago. Additionally, she is helping develop a family-run company, Grow-Into Books, which creates differentiated storybooks. Christina has managed various adult and youth programs and events -- socio-emotional learning, civic engagement, the arts, college/career readiness, tutoring and mentoring. As a Circle Keeper and Restorative Justice Coach, she’s worked with various schools. She has participated in Saving Our Lives, Hear Our Truths (SOLHOT), a space to celebrate Black girlhood, and Say Her Name, an organizing campaign to address institutional violence against Black cis and trans women and girls. Christina enjoys composing, writing music and performing as a vocalist and instrumentalist. She has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Sociology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a master’s degree in Educational Policy and Management from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
IG | @loveartjust , FB | ca1904986
