ART WORKS Projects & The Darkroom Chicago: Capturing Community Through the Lens of Joy & Liberation

Join us on Saturday, August 16, from 1 PM to 4 PM, for our special event, Capturing Community through the Lens of Joy & Liberation, the first of many public collaborations co-hosted by ART WORKS Projects and The Darkroom Chicago.

This event marks the launch of a series of collaborative events co-hosted by ART WORKS Projects, which leverages the power of visual storytelling and documentary photography to advance global justice, and The Darkroom Chicago, a Black woman-founded community darkroom based in the Chatham neighborhood on the South Side to revitalize analog photography as a medium for storytelling, education, and economic opportunity through a space of creativity and care.

Hosted at the Tuley Park Cultural Center, where The Darkroom Chicago houses its activities and where AWP’s print archives are stored, we will activate our shared spaces through artists’ talks and a mini-exhibition featuring Chicago-area photographers, bridging local stories to universal themes. Together, we’ll explore how photography serves to preserve and celebrate Black culture as a tool for justice and empowerment. We will discover joy and liberation through the lens, honoring the rich narratives that emerge when communities control their own visual stories.

Join us as we commemorate Black August by honoring the artistry that has always existed in our communities. We look forward to being in community with you.

Featured artists to be announced soon.

*This event is free and open to the public. There will be light refreshments available during the event.