The PO BOX is a creative collective and intergenerational social practice center dedicated to building the Rogers Park community in Chicago through radical art making and programming. They “embrace a horizontal organization model that centers marginalized voices and confronts systems of oppression while fostering mutual growth and healing.”
Despite having to cancel many in person programing during the pandemic PO Box has continued to supported a thriving Food Not Bombs chapter. Working out of the space, Food Not Bombs has providing direct relief to hundreds of local community members in need. They have also just turned their windows into a gallery and their first sidewalk show during the curent uprising and pandemic “Where We Are Now“.
“Where We Are Now” window exhibition is a collection of art that speaks to this moment of rebellion and pandemic. The exhibition was curated by Mary Zerkel from free downloadable graphics from the #WeGrieveTogether project, justseeds.org, projectnia.org, and afsc.org. As such the exhibition features a number of inspiring activist artists including William Estrada, Monica Trinidad, Molly Costello, Shirien Damra, Josh McPhee, Blanco, Melanie Cervantes, Nicolas Lampert, Jess X. Snow, Kat Endgame, Bec Young, Roger Peet, Chris Stain, Pete Railand, @unapologeticallybrownseries, Montreal Health Press, and myself (Aaron Hughes).
This past Saturday they celebrated the opening with live music on the PO Box patio featuring outstanding Chicago musicians James Sanders, Steven Hashimoto, Thomas Klein, Gerald McClendon, Brad Newton and Linda Solotaire as the Quarantunes.
The show will be up for at least a month. Stop by and view work in the PO Box windows.
