A Conversation About the Intersections of Environmentalism, Art, and the Neighborhood

"Art is Business" was reposted for Matthew T. Searle, Assistant Director, Experimental Station.

Arts & Events “Environmentalism, Art, and the Neighborhood”: Patric McCoy in Conversation with Kahari Blackburn

PATRIC MCCOY WITH HIS BELOVED BIKE

“Environmentalism, Art, and the Neighborhood”: Patric McCoy in Conversation with Kahari Black
Thursday, 10/18 - 6:00-8:00PM
Doors open at 6:00, the conversation begins at 6:30.

A public conversation between EPA veteran and art collector Patric McCoy and artist and staff member of Invisible Institute and South Side Weekly Kahari Blackburn about the intersectionality of concerns about the natural world, supporting living Black artists, and the history and changing the landscape of our immediate neighborhood. 

KAHARI BLACK IN BETWEEN CYCLOCROSS RACES

Patric McCoy retired in 2006 from a 28-year career as an environmental scientist in the Air and Radiation Division of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Regional Office in Chicago. He has a B.A. in Chemistry from the University of Chicago and an M.A. in Environmental Science from Governors State University.

Mr. McCoy has been collecting contemporary African American art for 41 years and has a collection of over 1000 pieces of fine art, 90% of which are done by Chicago artists. In 2003 he co-founded Diasporal Rhythms a not-for-profit 501(c)3 arts organization comprised of informed and passionate art collectors from Chicago’s African American communities. The organization promotes the collection of artworks by living artists of African descent.

Kahari Black is a community member, working artist, and media maker. He is a Visuals Editor at the South Side Weekly and co-directs the Youth Police Project at the Invisible Institute, where he facilitates conversations and creates media projects about young people's experiences with policing on the South Side Of Chicago. His long-term vision is to one day make an audio/visual production house out of the Experimental Station as a resource to empower more youth through the arts and media. 

Kahari is a graduate of Whitney Young Magnet High School, a former Americorps Public Allies fellow, a college dropout who wants an undergrad degree to make his mother smile, plus a member and advocate of Chicago’s booming creative and biking scenes.

This event is part of our Environmental Concerns project, from September 26th to November 18th. Through exhibitions, installations, and public events, this project looks at local intersections between the natural world and social environments.

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Kahari's website
Diaspora Rhythm's website
A recent New York Times article with Patric McCoy speaking about collecting
Patric McCoy Interview by Rebecca Zorach on the Never The Same Archive
Patric featured in "Biking While Black" Chicago Tribune article

Cream Co.’s “Plant Your Fears” at the 61st St. Farmers Market.

 Later Event: October 20

Kahari Sylvian-Blackburn Invisible Institute

We are fortunate to be able to host Patric McCoy and Kahari Blackburn this Thursday for a conversation about the intersections of environmentalism, art, and the neighborhood. 
If you do not know them already, Patric co-founded the art collectors group Diasporal Rhythms, worked for the EPA for 30+ years, and is an avid cyclist. Kahari is an artist who works here in the building with Invisible Institute and South Side Weekly and can also be seen about town on his bike. This should be a fascinating conversation with these two amazing people, so I hope you can make it!

The doors open at 6, and the conversation starts at 6:30. We will have beer, wine, and snacks! More info about the event is here.