Watershed: Ways of Knowing the River @ Bubbly Creek

The Chicago River holds and weaves together a prism of stories. Wherever you

touch it, you touch layers and layers of history, ecology, culture, and art.

The goal of this project is to gather folks from different communities to

experience the river in this holographic way, as a holder of memory, as a

storyteller.

To do this, we’ll run a series of four experiences this summer—three on

kayaks and one on the shore. Each will take place on a different segment of

the Chicago River. During this time, participants will engage with and learn

from community activists, artists, historians, and ecologists about that

specific site and the narratives it holds. The experiences will be interactive

and will include creating art and engaging in community science. We hope that

participants will build community, share their own stories, and leave with a

richer understanding of the ways the river connects all things.

Participants will be given a single kayak, which fits one person, to use for the duration of the program. This program is for ages 14+.

This event seeks to bring together people with a diversity of viewpoints and experiences, which can range from folks who frequent the river to folks who have never been on a kayak before. Please complete this form and you will receive an email from the Watershed team within two weeks of the program date to confirm your registration. Your registration is not complete until you receive this email.

Your Facilitators

Natasha Mijares is an artist, writer, curator, and educator. She received her

MFA in Writing from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She has exhib-

ited at various international and national galleries. Her work has appeared in

Gravity of the Thing, Hypertext Review, Calamity, Vinyl Poetry, and more.

Teresa Dzieglewicz is a Pushcart Prize-winning poet, educator, and lover of

rivers and prairies. She is a Black Earth Institute fellow, a Chicago Poetry

Center Poet-in-Residence, and part of the founding team of Mni Wichoni Naki-

cizin Wounspe (Defenders of the Water School). Her first book of poetry,

Something Small of How to See a River, is forthcoming from Tupelo Press and

her first children’s book, Belonging (co-written with Kimimila Locke), is

forthcoming from Chronicle Books.

¡Anímate! Studio

¡Anímate! Studio is a Chicago-based arts collaborative led by Andrés Lemus-Spont and Marya Spont-Lemus. True to our name, our projects embody our shared values of community, mentorship, possibility, and openness to experimentation, as well as encourage movement toward action. In our workshops, we guide intergenerational groups of participants in re-imagining and re-making existing objects and structures through open-ended, play-based experimentation in public space.

Citlali Trujillo

Citlalli's passion for environmental justice grew after the state sued Sims Metals for violating air pollution regulations in the Pilsen neighborhood. Motivated to raise awareness about the impacts of unregulated industries polluting Pilsen's air, water, and public green spaces, she joined PERRO. Through PERRO, Citlalli has worked on projects like the Rio de Bienvenida/River of Welcome art piece located at the park across from Sims Metals within an industrial corridor that has been a source of pollution for the neighborhood. This initiative sparks conversations about environmental justice and encourages residents to reimagine a future with cleaner air and water and equitable access to green spaces and the Chicago River. As President of PERRO, Citlalli continues to fight for environmental justice through a new project to revitalize Canal Origins Park, a riverfront space to reconnect the Pilsen community to the Chicago River. Her efforts focus on expanding green development opportunities that honor the history and needs of Latino communities surrounding the park.

The project has received initial funding from Black Earth Institute and kayaks are being generously shared by Urban Rivers. Other partners include ¡Anímate! Studio and Pilsen Environmental Rights and Reform Organzization (PERRO).