2015 Jane Addams' Birthday Celebration

2015 Jane Addams Birthday Celebration
Featuring the 96 Acres Project and Mariame Kaba

The Hull-House Museum invites you to celebrate Jane Addams' birthday with prison abolition organizer Mariame Kaba and the newest exhibition by the 96 Acres Project, with an installation by Maria Gaspar. As we celebrate those who fight for justice -- past and present-- we will examine structures of power and imagine a more just world.

5-6:30 pm Opening of Into Body Into Wall
Performances led by artists Patricia Nguyen and Luis Tubens throughout the house. DJ Tess spins Slo’Mo style jams. Birthday cupcakes for all. NOTE: This part of the program is open to all, with or without a ticket

NOTE: Seats have filled for the below section of the program. Please choose the WAIT LIST option on EventBrite if you would like to attend the talk, and we will accept as many people at the door as possible.

6:30-6:45 pm Welcome and Exhibit Remarks
Hear from the 96 Acres Project and artist Maria Gaspar about their latest art installation at Hull-House. They will describe how they use art and collective actions to investigate the Cook County Jail wall as a social, political, and psychological frame, imagine and reflect on new alternatives, and grapple with the voices and personal stories located on both sides of the jail wall. 6:45-7:30 pm Jane Addams Birthday Conversations for Peace and Justice honoring Mariame Kaba: “Punishing Girls: The Rise of Girls in the Juvenile Justice System.”

Hull-House is delighted to present this year’s distinguished speaker, Mariame Kaba. With power, vision, and commitment, Mariame Kaba inspires us to fight for a more just world. Mariame is an organizer, educator and curator who has been a voice in numerous social movements for prison abolition, racial justice, gender justice, and transformative justice. She is the founder and director of Project NIA, a grassroots organization with a vision to end youth incarceration, and a co-founder numerous organizations including the Chicago Freedom School and the Chicago Taskforce on Violence against Girls and Young Women.

7:30-8 pm Spoken Word performance by Young Chicago Authors
Young Chicago Authors brings together participants through writing, publication, and performance education for civic discourse and community celebration. Performers will conclude the evening with rhymes and stories of resistance.

About the Jane Addams Birthday Conversations on Peace and Justice
Jane Addams was the co-founder of the Hull-House Settlement, a pioneer social reformer, internationalist, feminist, and peace activist. In 1931, she became the first American woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. Addams and the residents of the Hull-House advocated for public health, fair labor practices, full citizenship rights for immigrants, public education, recreational and public space, public arts, and free speech. We take the opportunity on her birthday to celebrate the Hull-House progressive tradition, but also offer an opportunity to look forward by honoring a contemporary feminist, crossing various boundaries to bring together people working on issues of peace broadly defined in the present day.

Previous speakers for Jane Addams' Birthday Conversations on Peace and Justice have included three-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee and peace activist Kathy Kelly, Code Pink founder Medea Benjamin, feminist and community activist Grace Lee Boggs, American Indian activist Winona LaDuke, intersectional feminist bloggers The Crunk Feminist Collective, and transgender rights and prison activist Miss Major Griffin-Gracy.