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What We Do
What is The Public Square at the Illinois Humanities Council?
The Public Square at the IHC fosters debate, dialogue, and exchange of ideas about cultural, social and political issues with an emphasis on social justice. Our programs promote participatory democracy by creating space for public conversations.
Knowledge is power, yet much crucial knowledge still circulates only in small, isolated communities. We build bridges between theory and practice in order to empower individuals to use ideas as tools to improve their lives.
Why Public Square?
The Public Square at the IHC creates a site for an exchange of ideas and the collaborative pursuit and creation of knowledge. The Public Square at the IHC is a space for intellectual community and public engagement. We see our organization as a forum for ideas that might not otherwise gain an audience through commercial media.
The Public Square was founded in 2000 and adopted by the Illinois Humanities Council (IHC) on December 1, 2004. The IHC was the original funder for our Café Society program.
Programs
AAAH programs are intimate, informal discussions and meals that allow for meaningful exchanges among people who share some connection to the work of a visiting artist. Since coalition building is one of the cornerstones of social change, AAAH programs are structured to give individuals a chance to meet others engaged in similar struggles and projects. To this end, AAAH programs are primarily by invitation but are always open to our members. If you would like to be invited to future AAAH conversations, please drop us a line and tell us a little about your interests, work, and expertise. We will be in touch if an opportunity arises.
Café Society is a project designed to foster a more robust civil society, more cohesive and interactive communities, greater media literacy, and a more informed and engaged citizenry through weekly coffee shop conversations about contemporary social issues. Current media reports (along with ample doses of caffeine) serve as stimulants for the conversations.
Café Society es un proyecto para promover una sociedad civil más robusta, comunidades más cohesivas e interactivas, un mayor entendimiento de los medios de comunicación y una ciudadanía mejor informada y más comprometida, a través de conversaciones semanales sobre temas sociales de actualidad en cafés locales. Reportajes y noticias recientes (servidas con amplias dosis de cafeína) sirven de estímulo para las conversaciones.
An exhilarating series of films, forums, and conversations, Civic Cinema uses the most exceptionally creative and engaging documentary films of our times to help communities talk about the most pressing social issues facing us. The documentaries we screen and discuss challenge many of the mainstream representations of critical social issues. Art, in this case, becomes a way of thinking about how history and truth are represented and a way of promoting media literacy.
Art, issues, and dialogue--these are the key components to this exciting set of programs sponsored by The Public Square at the IHC in the Englewood and Humboldt Park neighborhoods. This series is a way to bridge the gap between the arts and social issues that are of current concerns with the community. Performances and presentations are a prelude to community-based discussions that engage everyone involved. Top artists and activists are part of the overall series. This series is made possible by The Joyce Foundation. Chicago Public Radio is the media sponsor for Know More.
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