About the series:
When artists make work about death, they are affirming their relationships to the living world. Doing this well requires that one’s studio practice be focused on asking questions, seeking connection, and inviting collaboration – with the living and the dead, with the past and the future, with the human and non-human.
This series of three stand-alone workshops looks at many different ways to engage with death, mortality, and grief through art and community. Artists find new ways to work with these topics in their own personal studio practice, and do so with the utmost respect and care for themselves, their subjects, and their audience.
Participants read and discuss short pieces of writing, look at artworks, and experiment with creative writing as critical tools for the visual artist. You need not be an artist to join! Readings are available for free in advance.
Masks are required at this event. Comfort Station provides extra masks, as well as a HEPA air purifier for the space.
The Death Cafe workshop series is hosted by Anders Zanichkowsky and presented in conjunction with Comfort Station’s exhibition, La Casa de Todos/Everyone’s Home. This program is partially funded by the National Endowment for the Arts.
About the workshop: Burial Art and the Affirmation of Life
Register here to reserve your spot for Workshop #2!
Since time immemorial, every culture of people on earth has venerated the bodies of our beloved dead. We do this through art, care, ritual, and architecture. Knowledge of our mortality is universal to the human experience and lies at the root of all religion and philosophy, and much of our material culture In this workshop we will look at some ways that people throughout history have used visual art to honor the dead and the past, and how this is also an affirmation of life, the living, and the future. We will also talk about how artists navigate the ethical and political concerns that come up when making work about these topics.
Artists include: Briggita Nördstrom (funeral palls and baby blankets), Nirmal Raja, “Material Remains.” “Ghost Bikes” (International project based in U.S., 2003 – present), Tourmaline, “Atlantic is a Sea of Bones” (short film). Bryan Stevenson and Equal Justice Initiative’s “Community Remembrance Project.”
Readings: Teju Cole, “My Grandmother’s Shroud,” Dagmawi Woubshet; “Looking for the Dead: Disprized Mourners and the Work of Compounding Loss,” Elias Canetti; and selections from “Crowds and Power” on Mourning Crowds and Invisible Crowds.
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An initiative of the Terra Foundation for American Art in partnership with artists and organizations across the city, Art Design Chicago is a series of events and exhibitions that highlight the city’s artistic heritage and creative communities.
