The evening continues at Walls Turned Sideways with a gallery tour and program.

Organized with incarcerated veteran artists, War Abolition foregrounds visions of freedom, refusal, and collective survival that emerge from within the carceral state. The exhibition begins from a core abolitionist insight: prisons are not separate from war, nor merely analogous to it, but part of the domestic infrastructure through which militarized violence is organized, racialized, and sustained. 

Moderated by Mohamed Mehdi, this panel brings together artists Hương Ngô and Hồng-Ân Trương in conversation with scholars Nguyễn Thúy Ly and Nadine Naber to discuss solidarity and the role of artists and scholars in organizing for justice in Palestine.

Join artist Gene Swallow (Oglala Lakota) for a hands-on doll-making workshop. Designed as an extended workshop session, participants will have time to learn techniques, work with materials, and create their own dolls.

Hanaa Malallah’s The Daffodils reads Gertrude Bell’s letters from British-occupied Baghdad against the artist’s own journey from Iraq to Britain a century later. Kiersten Neumann—Curator of the Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures (ISAC) Museum, Research Associate at ISAC, and Lecturer in Art History at the University of Chicago—discusses her collaboration on this project with Malallah, and a curatorial practice that centers artists of Middle Eastern heritage, drawing on archaeological collections, many displaced by colonial-era excavation, in support of their work. 

Open Platform is an opportunity for veterans, war-impacted artists, and community members to share and learn about the wide range of art practices and projects currently happening.

In partnership with About Face: Veterans Against the War and Vietnam Veterans Against the War, join us for Art Build as we prepare for the historic annual Anti-War Veterans Day program. Participants are invited to make screen prints and paint picket signs and banners for the occasion.

Mahwish Chishty leads a collaborative, community-based workshop exploring the emotional and societal impact of modern warfare in the United States.

Photograph by Stephen Petegorsky

Faisal Mohyuddin is the author of Elsewhere: An Elegy (Next Page Press, 2024), The Displaced Children of Displaced Children (Eyewear Publishing, 2018), and The Riddle of Longing (Backbone Press, 2017; updated edition forthcoming from Bull City Press). He teaches high school English in Chicago and creative writing at Northwestern University's School of Professional Studies. He is also a visual artist.

Steeped in Stillness is an immersive sound scape.

Step away from the pace of the day and give yourself permission to pause. Steeped in Stillness is an immersive sound bath blending guided meditation, deep rest, reflection, and journaling. Together, we’ll slow down, settle into the present moment, and make space to notice what rises when we allow ourselves to become still.

What to Bring: A yoga mat, "journal", something to write with, and anything that helps you feel supported, cozy and comfortable.

Begin the day with a guided grounding practice designed to bring participants together and create space for reflection, connection, and presence.