Imagining America 2018 National Gathering

Imagining America 2018 National Gathering

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CHICAGO – Imagining America: Artists and Scholars in Public Life and Illinois Humanities are pleased to announce that Imagining America’s 2018 National Gathering will be held October 19-21 in Chicago, Illinois. The two organizations will work with local institutions and leaders in organizing this annual event.

“Imagining America is excited to partner with Illinois Humanities and other local Chicago institutions to celebrate and learn from the city’s long history of publicly engaged scholarship and art,” says Erica Kohl-Arenas, Faculty Director of Imagining America. “Chicago is also an important location from which to draw attention to pressing public issues, such as immigrant rights, housing insecurity, and mass incarceration, that many communities are struggling with across the country.”

Illinois Humanities Executive Director Angel Ysaguirre says, “Being able to host humanists and artists who are engaged in strengthening the fabric of our communities is an exciting honor for Illinois Humanities. Imagining America provides a crucial space for considering how the humanities can serve all members of society, as partners rather than as the purveyors of knowledge. We are excited to have all that energy in Chicago.”

The Imagining America Gathering is an annual gathering of public scholars, artists, students, designers, and cultural organizers who are addressing the nation’s most critical issues. The conference offers participants a three-day immersive experience in which to connect, dialogue, learn, and strategize on the ways in which the arts, humanities, and design are and may be leveraged locally, regionally, and nationally towards transformative action. Organizers expect more than 400 individuals to attend this year’s national conference.

“Chicago’s abundance of universities, community colleges, museums, and other non-profit community organizations will make it a wonderful host for this year’s gathering,” adds Imagining America Board Chair Lisa Yun Lee.

 

To stay informed on news of the gathering, follow Imagining America’s newsletter and Twitter handle, @ImaginingAmer.

 

About Imagining America
A national consortium of colleges, universities, and cultural institutions, Imagining America advances public scholarship, community building, civically engaged learning, and campus change through the bold power of the arts, humanities, and design.

About Illinois Humanities
Illinois Humanities strengthens the social, political, and economic fabric of Illinois through constructive conversation and community engagement. Founded in 1974 as the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, Illinois Humanities is the only statewide proponent of the public humanities in Illinois. Through public programs, education and training, and grantmaking, we connect Illinoisans who might not otherwise encounter one another.

 

Update 5/8/2018: National Conference has been renamed to National Gathering.

Go to National Gathering Home Page

 

Contact: Jeremy Truong
530-297-4644
jgtruong@ucdavis.edu