Chicago Cultural Center, Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) Hall
2nd Floor North
The “American Indian Wars” and the ongoing “Global War on Terror” are two of the longest military conflicts in US history. These long wars are intertwined through similar military strategies that often profile, target, and devastate Black, Indigenous and People of Color communities while recruiting and enlisting people from these same groups. This tension is visible in the creative responses to these long wars by artists.
The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) Hall was built as a site to honor the sacrifice of Union Civil War veterans and their families. There is no better place to consider the threads that connect artists impacted by the US long wars as they utilize varied approaches to document distinct yet overlapping community histories, challenge colonialism, recycle military technologies, and struggle for freedom. Together, their work proposes alternative ways of understanding and surviving the long wars.
