All posts tagged: illinois

Burge Victims Speak (in progress)

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“Torture can be an open secret in a democratic society. Apparently, successive Chicago police superintendents suppressed internal investigations that revealed torture, successive state’s attorneys knew of the torture but refused to investigate, and the state’s Felony Review Unit knowingly elicited and used tortured confessions. Approximately one-third of the current Cook County criminal court judges are former assistant state’s attorneys or Area 2 detectives who were involved in the torture cases. Courts and the public will also look the other way.” – Darius Rejali, Torture and Democracy

Best of 2015: Chicago, Poland, Serbia and Germany

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This was a year of terrorist attacks, mass shootings a-plenty, mass exodus from the Middle East, North and East Africa and the AfPak region which does not include India but a small number from Bangladesh, rising xenophobic far right sentiment, and an uptick in hostility towards Muslims unprecedented since immediately after the September 11, 2001 attacks. The far right so far has been kept on the back burner, but the slow slide into what I liken to the Brezhnev years of the Cold War for the Global War on Terror (GWoT) years is upon us. The American presidential elections offer little reason or occasion for hope. The state of affairs in Syria, too, offers little occasion for hope. “Assad must go” has converted into the new “red line,” as US Secretary of State John Kerry concedes Assad can stay because the US has no one else to pluck out of an abyss of alternatives. The whole world has heard of the Islamic State and the international media relishes any opportunity to put the group’s name …

On Sale Tonight at Midnight: the 2016 Chicago Taxi Driver Calendar + Mr. February Tote Bags!

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If you follow my Instagram account (@amandarivkin) or my photography Facebook page, you have noticed I have been busy the last few days photographing the 2016 Chicago Taxi Driver Calendar. Each day I am featuring one of our calendar cabbies along with some fun facts and highlighting different moments from behind the scenes of our shoot. Taxi drivers provide an essential service like police, firemen, food industry workers or EMTs. Sales of the calendar and Mr. February tote bags (below) will begin at midnight tonight in time for Black Friday in the U.S. Proceeds will benefit the legal costs for a suit against the City of Chicago on behalf of the taxi drivers.

“Sustenance” at Loyola University for Hunger Week

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My work, “Sustenance: Chicago and the Food Chain,” is on display this week at Loyola University Chicago’s Damen Student Center, 2nd Floor during Hunger Week. Commissioned by Art Works Projects, “Sustenance” examines issues around the food supply and child nutrition in Chicago and the state of Illinois. The work debuted at Art Works Projects’ studio gallery in Chicago in January and previously toured at the Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci in Milan, Italy for a month starting late August thanks to generous support from the U.S. Consulate Milan and Grosvenor Capital Management.

Sustenance: Chicago and the Food Chain in Milan, Italy

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August 27 – September 20 Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci ART WORKS Projects, in collaboration with the U.S. Consulate General in Milan, is pleased to present an Italian tour of the exhibit Sustenance: Chicago and the Food Chain, documenting the realities of food access in Chicago through the eyes of local children at home, in school, and in their communities. Bringing this important story to international audiences, this exhibit with photography by Amanda Rivkin explains Chicago’s place within global agricultural practices and policies, and highlights the city’s many innovative programs working to enhance children’s relationships with nutrition and healthy food. A supplemental feature of photographs from Marwen students adds young Chicagoans’ perspectives on the topics of food and nutrition. After a successful run in the ART WORKS Projects’ Chicago studio, which attracted more than twenty local organizations and hundreds of visitors, the exhibit will now travel to Milan in conjunction with Expo Milano 2015: “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life.” As part of the “Expo in città” programming through the …

Art Works Projects Exhibits Touring Europe

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Big news! My first museum show is opening in a little over a week. Here is a little teaser from Art Works Projects: Exciting exhibits are touring Europe – ART WORKS is bringing “Sanctuary and Sustenance” to Cologne and “Sustenance: Chicago and the Food Chain” to Milan! Thanks to our collaborators Amanda Rivkin Photography, the U.S. Consulate General Milan, Manifest Media, and Art und Amen.

New Event Added to “Sustenance” Programming: Access Through Excess

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ACCESS THROUGH EXCESS: A ROUNDTABLE CONVERSATION February 16 @ 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm According to the USDA, between 30 and 50% of all food produced in the United States goes to waste. At the same time, many Chicagoland children and their families experience hunger. As part of the current 625 at 6:25 exhibition, Sustenance: Chicago and the Food Chain, ART WORKS Projects​ and Zero Percent are pleased to present a community roundtable as we discuss how to prevent and rescue this waste, turning excess food into accessible nutrition. Please join members of the Chicago food community as we share ideas and brainstorm solutions. Participants to include: Goose Island Clybourn, The Signature Room at the 95th, Pilot Light Chefs, Gourmet Gorilla and the City of Chicago Department of Family and Support Services, Homeless and Human Services Division Free & Open to the Public Tell us you’re coming! RSVP@artworksprojects.org

Five Years Later: Reuniting With One of the First Gay Couples to Obtain A Marriage License in Iowa

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In April 2009, I traveled from Chicago to Davenport, Iowa to cover the first day gay marriage licenses were issued in that state for The New York Times. In line at the Scott County Recorder’s office that day were these two, Curtis Harris and Daren Adkisson. The picture I took of them ran in the paper and subsequently in over 500 newspapers across America they told me yesterday. They also told me that as Daren was suffering from cancer at the time, the picture led to attention in their community which led to a cancer specialist who was not taking any more patients opening his doors to Daren. While they credit the picture with saving his life, I credit the doctors. These guys are pretty special. The rare Americans who turn down $10k to be on TV (a comedy show’s producers called three times wishing to do a spoof, the third time offering a cash incentive) and are just happy to be and live and love each other. Another benefit of the picture appearing was …

Chicago NATO Summit Weekend May 18-22, 2012 Events Calendar

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“Afghan Women Shadow Summit” Amnesty in Chicago It’s a crucial time for President Karzai, President Obama, world leaders and the media to see that people care deeply about the fate of women’s and girls’ human rights in Afghanistan. Speakers and panelists include Illinois Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky; Afifa Azim, Executive Director, Afghan Women’s Network; Gayle Lemmon, Council on Foreign Relations and Author, “Dressmaker of Khair Khana”; and Manizha Naderi, Executive Director of Women for Afghan Women. The panel will be moderated by Jerome McDonnell, host of WBEZ’s Worldview. After the Summit, please join us for an action as we fly kites to demand Afghan women’s rights! This event is free and open to the public, but advance registration is required. To register and for more information, please visit http://www.amnestyusa.org/afghanwomen. We need you! When: 11AM – 1PM on May 20th – the first day of the NATO Summit. Registration and light brunch begin at 10AM Where: Swissotel Hotel, Lucerne Ballroom, 323 East Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL 60601 Note: After the Summit, please join us at Navy Pier …