The Wall of Respect and People’s Art Since 1967 Symposium Opening

The Guild Literary Complex joins the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and other partners in a symposium launch event tonight to honor and discuss the legacy of the Wall of Respect. The Wall of Respect and People’s Art Since 1967 is a symposium (April 17-18) that launches a two-year critical conversation on the Wall of Respect that leads up to the mural’s 50th anniversary in 2017.

In the summer of 1967, during a time of political turbulence, the visual artists of the Organization of Black American Culture (OBAC), together with muralist William Walker, painted a group mural on the South Side of Chicago. Known as the Wall of Respect, the highly visible community artwork celebrated black heroes, served as a platform for performance and rallies, and engendered a sense of collective ownership within the neighborhood, inspiring community mural movements around the US and the world.

This symposium invites the artists to revisit their creative political acts and to reflect on the Wall’s legacy in a public conversation. To see a full schedule, click here.

Today’s opening program will be held in the Nichols Trustees Suite of the Art Institute of Chicago’s Modern Wing. The keynote address will be presented by visual artist Wadsworth Jarrell, and the evening will include poetry, music, and more. Speakers for this opening event include:

• Haki Madhubuti (Founder and Chairman, Third World Press)
• Walter Massey (President, School of the Art Institute of Chicago)
• Siddha Weber (artist, poet, musician)
• Sherae Rimpsey (poet, MFAW Candidate at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago)

Free and open to the public. Registration is required. Seating is limited and on a first come, first served basis. To register, please contact Drea Howenstein at [email protected] or Sonja Falke at [email protected].