Books in the SAIC - Chicago Social Practice History S series

In 1968, Chicago made headlines for the ferocity of its police response to protesters at the Democratic National Convention, prompting outrage in the art world. This book examines the creative tactics of the city's activist artists and their ways of addressing the broad definitions of the law.

When artists break boundaries of traditional forms and work outside of institutionalized systems, they often must create new infrastructures to sustain their practices. This book looks to Chicago's deeply layered history of artists, scholars, and creative practitioners coming together to create, share, and maintain these alternative networks.

Socially engaged art, by means of its transformative practice, is shaping today's institutions and the very culture of now. This volume focuses on how artists and others have worked with, within, and sometimes in opposition to large Chicago institutions, such as public schools, universities, libraries, archives, museums, and other civic bodies.