KIRSTEN LEENAARS

Local artists take on the criminal justice system in new exhibit

Present Tense, 3-channel video installation, 2019

The Chicago Sun Times writes an articles about Envisioning Justice: An Exhibition. Syd Stone writes: Seven artists will display their work Aug. 6 through Oct. 12 at the Sullivan Galleries at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

"For video artist Kirsten Leenaars, “envisioning justice” is about building strong communities even in the face of incarceration. Leenaars created an immersive video experience that showcases community members from Circles & Ciphers, a Rogers Park-based restorative justice organization that uses hip-hop to help those affected by the prison system."

For full Chicago Sun Times article:

https://chicago.suntimes.com/entertainment-and-culture/2019/8/1/20748751/chicago-art-institute-criminal-justice-exhibit-illinois-humanities?fbclid=IwAR0y0HQcCr__jySHgiLKyqROPem4-W6yyY0EkNZ_-cw2LLEyVjY94JuoTPU

Exhibition info:

Envisioning Justice

When: Aug. 5-Oct. 12

Where: Sullivan Galleries, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, 33 S. State Street, seventh floor

Info: www.saic.edu/sullivan-galleries

Opening Envisioning Justice: An Exhibition

Envisioning Justice: An Exhibition curated by Alexandria Eregbu and Danny Orendorff together with Illinois Humanities. The culmination of two years of the Envisioning Justice Initiative, this dynamic and multi-faceted exhibition shares the work of Chicago artists and communities as they visualize, actualize, and reimagine strategies, policies, and approaches in service of a society that is just for all.

I am honored to be one of the 7 commissioned artists from the #EnvisioningJustice exhibition who worked with people in 7 communities across Chicago, including Cook County Jail and the Juvenile Temporary Detention center, to create work that confronted the question: "What do we mean we ask for and envision justice?" I partnered with the incredible Circles&Ciphers, based in Rogers Park. Circles&Ciphers is a hip-hop infused restorative justice organization led by and for young people impacted by violence. Our collaboration resulted in the production of Present Tense, a 3-channel video installation presented at the Envisioning Justice exhibition. https://vimeo.com/354117248

Additionally, the exhibition features artwork, ephemera, and documentation from seven Chicago communities impacted by incarceration and works by artists whose practices respond to such themes, this exhibition interrogates the failures of our criminal justice system while presenting plans toward self-empowerment and communal liberation.

Opening: Saturday, August 17, 2019, 2:00–5:00 p.m. Sullivan Galleries, School of the Art Institute of Chicago 33 South State Street, 7th Floor Gallery hours: Monday - Saturday 11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. August 6 - October 12, 2019

For more on the show and my work with Circles&Ciphers read this article in the Chicago Sun Times: https://chicago.suntimes.com/entertainment-and-culture/2019/8/1/20748751/chicago-art-institute-criminal-justice-exhibit-illinois-humanities fbclid=IwAR0y0HQcCr__jySHgiLKyqROPem4-W6yyY0EkNZ_-cw2LLEyVjY94JuoTPU

Present Tense: https://vimeo.com/354117248

Circles&Ciphers: http://www.circlesandciphers.org/

Envisioning Justice Initiative: www.envisioningjustice.org

The Broadcast in production

Updated: Sep 10, 2019

The Broadcast is a video project commissioned for the BroadMSU Museum in East Lansing (MI) and part of subsequent show at the museum. The project considers truth and distortion in public address and media representations and addresses questions around which stories are being told, who do these stories belong to, and whose voices are represented? What is fact and what is fake? In 2019, the main obstacle to the shaping of informed and well-considered public opinion in the US is the proliferation of distortions, misinformation, false claims, harassment campaigns, and lack of democratic access to media platforms and more democratic knowledge distribution channels. The result is cynicism, distrust, fear, divisiveness, and the degradation of political and personal agency. During the video production period from July 22 - August 8 the artist and the participants will explore different voices competing for attention: one communicating the truth, the other undermining that effort, challenging the very notion of a known, shared reality. Through the production of The Broadcast, American born, immigrant, and refugee youth will analyze and critique issues involving media, culture, and politics, looking at its impact on public perception and opinion. They will use their own lived experiences and collective imagination to represent the views of young people more broadly that are largely absent from the mainstream media, all in the search for our shared humanity.