A way back home: Art as recovery for rape victims in Chicago
by Ritu Prasad At first, the photographs seem unremarkable—a pair of well-worn shoes, a flannel shirt, gray sweatpants. Floating on a black background, hung on a clean white wall, these 12 photographs show what 12 rape victims wore at the time of their assault. The series, titled “Well, What Were You Wearing?” by Katherine Cambareri, […]
Chicago Feminists Create Spaces for Art and Activism
by Ritu Prasad On the corner of Cortland and Richmond in Logan Square sits an unassuming house. This is the new home of The Overlook Place, a studio and residency program dedicated to giving women artists, queer artists, and artists of color a space to create and be heard. Jennifer Fagan, Overlook’s founder, explained how […]
14 Food Photos That Show What Diversity Tastes Like
by Ritu Prasad Lakeview restaurant Southport and Irving (SIP) kicked off the first dinner in their Unity and Diversity series on February 23. Inspired by the melting pot of America itself, owner Vivek Sehgal hopes to bring people together over the things we love, universally: our mother’s cooking, our grandmother’s recipes, our family’s traditions. The […]
The stories behind the scenes: racism and sexism in Chicago theater
By Ritu Prasad When I flip through my old journals, where I first began experimenting with storytelling, none of my characters look like me. Even as I can hear myself in their voices, I can see my insecurities in their descriptions: blue eyes, the opposite of mine; blonde hair, the opposite of mine; pale skin […]
It takes generations: the women, men, and children of Chicago’s Women’s March
by Ritu Prasad Sharpies, construction paper, pastries, and plenty of coffee were spread invitingly across two tables at the Women & Children First Bookstore. When the doors opened at 8 a.m. sharp on Saturday morning, there was already a line of people ready to make signs and socialize before the Women’s March on Chicago. Nineteen-year-old […]
Chicago feminists critical of Obama, conflicted over Trump
By Ritu Prasad For many involved with grassroots feminism in Chicago, Barack Obama’s presidency wasn’t all it was promised to be. Feminist leaders now look to the Donald Trump administration with a conflicting sense of apprehension and tentative hope. At the Women & Children First bookstore, seated beneath a colorful collection of children’s books with […]
