ARTivism: Valentines for Democracy
On February 14th, the Latino Cultural Center hosted their first Artivism public program Valentines for Democracy which was also part of the Black History Month celebration at UIC. This creative writing workshop was led by Afro-Indigenous poet and artist Alan Pelaez Lopez. He guided participants and started off by reading two poems and debriefing them. Afterwards participants wrote their own poems describing what they deserved and this served as a catalyst to release emotions and thoughts. Following, some participants shared their personal stories and the group was tasked with writing a letter to their younger selves. These letters included people’s identification of the ‘denied rights’ they now know they deserved all along. This workshop served as a healthy outlet, self reflection, a way to vocalize needs, and learning how to best advocate for their rights.
At the event participants were also able to look up their local representatives for the upcoming Chicago Municipal Election on Feb. 26,2019 provided by the Student Leadership and Civic Engagement at UIC. You can search for your ballot through Ballot Ready