Once again, the whole world is watching Chicago. Our city, known for its grit and generosity, doesn’t take anything for granted, particularly free speech. Exercised nightly around dinner tables and in the streets, Chicagoans believe the open exchange of ideas isn’t just part of our daily lives but also an essential right. There are many ways to champion speech and fight censorship, and in darkened theaters, over mics, in galleries and on dance floors all across this beautiful city, on any night of the week and right down the street, you can steep yourself in the free exchange of ideas and creativity at Chicago’s many community-based arts organizations.
At first blush, the arts might seem like a nice extra. Concerts are fun. Who doesn’t like a familiar show during the holidays? Yes, the arts are joyful and entertaining and even silly at times — they can be a place of refuge and escape. But theater, music, film, dance and the visual arts are also vanguards of free speech. Voices that might not otherwise have any avenue for expression can regularly be heard belting their hearts out and whispering hard truths on stages and in galleries throughout the city, which is why it’s more important now than ever to support these hubs of creativity and free expression.
There are efforts to try to quiet the beautiful, provocative and expansive voices of arts groups large and small, including groups located in every neighborhood. Choking financial support is being used to quell artists and arts organizations. If arts groups can’t pay their bills, the venues will close, and the voices will be silenced. One of the first salvos in this campaign began when grants awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Institute for Museum and Library Services were frozen and rescinded. This campaign has affected arts and cultural organizations on the national, regional and local levels. The attack on late-night hosts and their satire is another step in this insidious and dangerous campaign of silencing and censorship, as is defunding public broadcasting.
Chicago has a wealth of community-based arts groups and cultural organizations located in every neighborhood. Folks might not realize there’s a show within a couple blocks of their front door. These champions of free speech and expression celebrate the richness of Chicago’s and the world’s many voices with wit and bravery and love.
For example, this year’s Lit & Luz Festival produced by MAKE literary magazine digs into the theme of “Repair/Reparar.” Writers, poets and artists from Chicago and Mexico will look for the places in their worlds that need repair and explore the creative acts that can help us all reimagine our shared realities.
Theatre Y is presenting “In Good Company” through Nov. 9, an immersive walk through city streets that invites the participants to reflect on community, democracy and belonging. These are just two examples of the thought-provoking and moving art that can be found throughout our city.
Despite the loss of funding, our neighborhood arts organizations persevere. After all, Chicago is a city that was built with nickels and dimes. We have always been deeply connected to and proud of our neighborhoods. We love the tavern on the corner, the indie bookstore down the block, the family-owned diner with the dessert carousel just inside the door and the local bodega where we get our morning coffee. Add local arts organization to that list of neighborhood “musts.” These venues and shows are the places where the next generation of visionary artists and voices are incubated and supported. They need our help.
There are many ways to support free speech, and one of them is right outside your door. Your dollars make a difference, not just through cancellations and boycotts, but by supporting those who continue to do the work. Go learn the community histories being saved and celebrated at the cultural organization in your ward — there are many of them. Go to a show at a storefront theater or buy a piece of art from a local gallery and demonstrate that supporting free speech is not only worth the price of admission but — more importantly — worth your time and presence.
Don’t let the silence creep onto your block.
Ellen Placey Wadey is the program director for Chicago Artistic Vitality and Collections at the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation. The foundation supports arts, collections and land conservation for the people of Chicago and South Carolina’s Lowcountry.
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