Garfield Park Conservatory

EXHIBIT: An Otherworldly Existence: Afrofuturism & the Environment
2023-06-09 13:00 - 17:00, 2023-06-15 13:00 - 17:00, 2023-06-16 13:00 - 17:00, 2023-06-22 13:00 - 17:00, 2023-06-23 13:00 - 17:00, 2023-06-29 13:00 - 17:00, 2023-06-30 13:00 - 17:00 (America/Chicago) | Garfield Park Conservatory, 300 North Central Park Avenue, Chicago, IL, 60624, United States
An Otherworldy Existence: Afrofuturism & the Environment:
Afrofuturism is a social, political and artistic movement. It envisions an improved future world for African-descended peoples. The African-descended people and cultures play a key role in the creation of that world. South Side native, artist Kee Merriwether, made this body of work. Garfield Park residents also shaped the exhibit. It seeks to represent African-descended people in a rich and robust environment. The need to fight environmental injustice is no longer needed, because this world is now just.

About the Artist:
Kee is a Chicago born and raised artist. Kee’s work explores the duality of collage and archives through printed matter, literature, research,p edagogy, and archiving. Their work seeks to centralize their lineage that is connected to The Great Migration, Jamaica, and the Black Belt. Kee is the founder behind the Black Matriarch Archive and Homagetoblkmadonnas which is centered around Black mothers, femmes, and women as a source of the spirit of inquiry and hopefully one-day repatriation.

Virtual Yoga with Natalie
2023-06-10 09:00 - 10:00, 2023-07-08 09:00 - 10:00
Register

Join us for a virtual yoga session with Natalie from the comfort of your home!
Join Natalie for this one-hour session from the comforts of your own home with the Conservatory as the background. Beginners to advanced yogis are welcome to join. Pre-registration is required so we can send you a link to join, and space is limited.

Auto-generated closed captioning available.
This class is free but we welcome donations to help offset programming costs.
Registration closes at 9:00am when the session begins.

Juneteenth Community Picnic
2023-06-14 16:00 - 19:00
Community Interest Form
We are gathering as a community to celebrate African-American culture and the historical significance of Juneteenth. Picnic attendees will have the opportunity to learn about the cultural heritage of Juneteenth through music, art and other activities. This event is free with reservations to the Conservatory. Community members can also register for a “Picnic Pack” (sandwich, chips, fruit leather, & water). Please bring your own blanket or feel free to sit on the grass in the Conservatory’s outdoor City Garden. In the event of inclement weather, the event will move indoors.
About Juneteenth: Freedom finally came on June 19, 1865, when some 2,000 Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas. The army announced to the more than 250,000 enslaved Black people in the state, they were free by executive decree. This day came to be known as “Juneteenth”.
We look forward to you joining us!
This event is included in your reservation to the Conservatory. If you are a Garfield Park resident please fill out the community interest form for more information about free add ons!
Contact Dslaughter@garfieldpark.org with any questions.
Accommodations: Please let us know on the order form, or email access@garfieldpark.org if you require accommodations.

Wild Wednesdays
2023-06-21 16:00 - 19:00, 2023-07-05 16:00 - 19:00, 2023-07-12 16:00 - 19:00, 2023-07-19 16:00 - 19:00
Join GPCA’s Nature Educators on Wednesday evenings to explore and discover together! We will get our hands dirty, play, and discover new things about plants, animals and nature. This is an evening of imagination and exploration sure to make Wednesday the best day of the week.
During the summer months through early fall, this program will be outside in our Play and Grow Garden, where kids can get a little wild as they climb on our tinker tree, build a fort, dig (or make cupcakes) in our pebble pond and run around. We will learn about plants, make art projects, conduct experiments to better understand nature, and much more!
Due to staff limitations, we cannot accommodate groups. Kids must be accompanied by an adult (at least one adult per 5 children). This event may be canceled in case of inclement weather. No pre-registration is required for this drop-in program, but all attendees need a general reservation to the Conservatory. Get one here on the Visit Us page!
Family programs are supported by Peoples Gas Community Fund and PNC.

Chicago Bonsai Club
2023-06-21 18:00 - 19:30, 2023-07-19 18:00 - 19:30
Come join us to learn about the ancient art of growing bonsai from the Chicago Bonsai Club, a chapter of the Midwest Bonsai Society. Bring your bonsai trees to work on or just come to watch. The meeting is open to any interested adults, drop-in anytime from 6pm-7:30pm in the Classroom at GPC. Potting soil and wire will be provided, and some plant materials and pots will be available at a nominal cost.
There is no fee to attend and you do not need a reservation to access the session. If you’d like to visit the Conservatory before or after joining this program, please book a reservation here (link opens in a new tab).

Photo credit: Mark on Flickr; height slightly cropped.

Music Under Glass with Ondine
2023-06-28 18:00 - 19:00
Register

Join us for the Music Under Glass 2023 summer concert series!

Our first artist of the summer, Ondine, will perform “Chrysalis”.
Chrysalis is an evening of textured music ladened with vocal harmonies and symbiotic movement that explores the cyclical nature of growing up and rediscovering parts of oneself while also asking, “how much of who we will be is already part of who we are?

General Admission Tickets: FREE

Accommodations: When you register for this program you will be asked to provide any accommodation requests. If you have any questions or would like to request an additional accommodation, please contact Tiye Johnson at tjohnson@garfieldpark.org, at least 72 hours prior to the event start.
The Music Under Glass series is made possible in part by The MacArthur Fund for Culture, Equity and the Arts at Prince, the Illinois Arts Council Agency, the National Endowment for the Arts, DCASE and CIBC.

Artist's Garden Exhibit: Fairy Garden
2023-07-05 10:00 - 20:00, 2023-07-06 10:00 - 17:00, 2023-07-07 10:00 - 17:00, 2023-07-08 10:00 - 17:00, 2023-07-09 10:00 - 17:00, 2023-07-12 10:00 - 20:00, 2023-07-13 10:00 - 17:00, 2023-07-14 10:00 - 17:00 and 3 more dates
The whimsical world of wonder and architecture of our resident fairies!

This summer’s Artist’s Garden exhibit features more than 15 magical fairy houses set creatively within the beautiful flowers and greenery of the Artist’s Garden. Classic flowers including hollyhock, sunflower, sweet alyssum, and nasturtium are joined by enchanting varieties such as Salvia ‘Fairy Queen’, ‘Dreamland Pink’ Zinnia, and ‘Spellbound White Blush’ Petunia. The mini-homes represent a wide range of design styles and materials, limited only by the builders’ imaginations. If you don’t already believe in fairies, this display might just change your mind!

This seasonal outdoor exhibit will open on July 5th and run through September 17th, 2023

Reserve your spot today: garfieldconservatory.org/visit

Admission: $5 for Adults; Free for kids, people who live in Garfield Park and GPCA members.
Neighbors who need the discount code, please fill out this interest form or contact Drea Slaughter at dslaughter@garfieldpark.org. Become a GPCA Member here: garfieldconservatory.org/support-join/membership

AACM: 60 to the 60th featuring Dee Alexander and Art Turk Burton
2023-07-09 13:30 - 14:30
Register

AACM: 60 to the 60th celebrates the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) through a series of concerts to commemorate 60 years of artistic brilliance. Presented in partnership with Old Town School of Folk Music (OTSFM), each concert will include AACM member-led ensembles, and will take place at OTSFM Music Moves partner locations. The first concert will feature the Dee Alexander Trio along with Art Turk Burton and the Congo Square Ensemble.
Join us Sunday, July 9 at Garfield Park Conservatory at 1:30pm.
AACM: 60 to the 60th is presented by Old Town School of Folk Music, the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, and Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance.

—————–

Accommodations: When you register for this program you will be asked to provide any accommodations requests. If you have any questions or would like to request an additional accommodation, please contact access@garfieldpark.org at least 72 hours prior to the event start.

Food Sovereignty: Roots, Relationships, and Rest
2023-07-12 18:00 - 19:00
Register

“Food Sovereignty: Roots, Relationships and Rest”

In this panel presentation moderated by Lisa Tallman of the Community Food Navigator, we will be in conversation with Angela Taylor from the Garfield Park Community Council and Pastor Reshorna Fitzpatrick of Stone Temple Baptist Church about their work towards building a collective and transformative vision for food justice and sovereignty on Chicago’s West Side.
Panelists will explore:

What does food sovereignty mean?
What does community mean and how do our relationships support us in this work?
As we grow, what does generous reciprocity mean in relationship with people and our ecosystems – land, water, air, soil, plants, animals, and insects.
How do we hold and find time for rest and healing with the community and the land?

—————

Tickets: Free; donations are accepted. Space is limited; if you register and are no longer able to make it, please let us know so we can open up the ticket.
Accommodations: If you’d like to request accommodations, please contact Tiye Johnson at tjohnson@garfieldpark.org. On the registration form, there is also a spot to indicate if you’d like to request an accommodation. Please submit requests at least 72 hours prior to the start of the program.
Registration closes Wednesday July 12th at 12pm Central Time
This program is made possible in part by Blue Cross Blue Shield, PNC Bank, The MacArthur Fund for Culture, Equity and the Arts at Prince Charitable Trusts, the Illinois Arts Council Agency, the National Endowment for the Arts, DCASE and CIBC.
