The Hyde Park Art Center celebrates its 80th birthday, and everyone is invited! Guests can join the celebration at any point in the day to enjoy free art making activities, school & studio drop-in demos, new exhibitions, Creative Wing Open Studios and music provided by WHPK and Central Air, courtesy of Jackman Goldwasser Resident, Jared Brown.

The theme for the day is: "How can we celebrate the next 80 years together?"

Parking will be available at: Kenwood Academic Center (the former Canter Elementary School) located just north of Kenwood High School on Blackstone. The address is Kenwood Academic Center 4959 S. Blackstone Chicago, IL

Schedule (from the host):

606 Pancakes with Chicago Breakfast Club

9AM - NOON

1st Floor Lobby

Wake up early and roll out of bed for some breakfast at HPAC! In theme with the Chicago BreadClub’s focus on community and education around grain and staple foods, there will be birthday pancakes, as well as flour freshly milled on the community mill for attendees to take home.

Hot Mess Yoga with Amber Thomas

10AM - 11AM

Outdoor Stage

Our favorite community partner is BACK for a special birthday flow. Is your life a hot mess? Need a workout space for people with real bodies? Then Hot Mess Yoga is the space for you baybeh! Come hear the S%#& that I can’t say in the studio! This no holds barred yoga flow will be happening in our outdoor plaza for our 80th. Let your booty sweat drip in peace! Hosted by Comedian and Certified Yoga Instructor Amber Thomas. Bring your towel, mat and water! Some mats available.

Reading + Coloring Room

ALL DAY

Library

Need a quiet moment away from all the hubbub? Sit down in our always free, always open community library. Coloring pages and supplies will be available.

Class Demos in Mosaics, Printmaking, and Painting

10AM - 1PM

School & Studios

Pop behind the city’s best vending machine in the city to find our School & Studios where classes are in session for Summer. Teaching Artists in Mosaics, Printmaking, and Painting will all have small demos to share with visitors. Get a taste of what making is like at the Art Center.

Sound Bath with Patricia Walton in Celestial Messages

11AM - NOON

Gallery 1

Come explore the deep relaxation and restorative qualities of Crystal singing bowls and other vibrational instruments with Patricia Walton inside Fo Wilson’s Celestial Messages exhibition. This meditative session can stop the mind's chatter and relieve tension. Let the vibrational waves wash over you as you expand your awareness to receive the sound, not only through your ears but with every cell of your body. The session is done laying down so bring your yoga mats, blankets, and small pillows to make yourself comfortable during this meditation/relaxation experience. It can also be experienced in a seated chair.

William Estrada and The Mobile Art Cart: Community Screen Printing

11AM - 4PM

Outdoor Plaza

The Mobile Street Art Cart provides free art projects with people on the streets in their neighborhoods, addresses issues relevant to the community, creates a temporary space where the community and artist can talk about art and its impact on our communities, and shares resources to support artmaking and community-building. William Estrada will be on site with a special screen printing project for our 80th!

Nat LaChall: SEEN Identity Project + Photobooth

11AM - 4PM

Pond

SEEN is a photographic and text documentation series of LGBTQ+ people and the words they use to self-identify. SEEN has grown to include over two hundred participants and counting. SEEN serves as a monument that honors individuals and represents the strength in the numbers of our communities. Nat LaChall will be on site taking photographs with the interactive project and collecting additional adjectives to add to the catalog.

Kayla Ginsberg: Pom Pom Celebration Crowns

11AM - 4PM

MMR

In honor of our 80th, craft your own celebration crown with artist Kayla Ginsberg to wear throughout the day and beyond.

80 Years More Time Capsule with Poets in Residence

11AM - 5PM

The Puddle

In 2006, our doors opened at 5020 S. Cornell but we have yet to fully complete the renovation and we need your help! Our Time Capsule, which has a home in a currently empty nook on the 2nd Floor, has yet to be filled with captures of our current era, memories of the past, and hopes for our future. Poets will be in residence to help generate and foster your messages! Help us preserve your stories and bury your wishes as seeds for our future community.

BEER + SNACKS (while supplies last)

NOON - 5:30PM

Outdoor Plaza

Choose Your Mar Adventure with Mar Currin & Special Guests

1PM - 2PM

Outdoor Stage

Part interview, part storytelling, and completely weird: Mar Curran’s live storytelling adventure scenario makes it’s Hyde Park Art Center debut in broad daylight. Joined by special guests for this pop-up, Mar will take them through their original “Choose Your Own” compositions, all well telling jokes, asking sincere questions, and braving the great unknown.

Mini-Mobile Thrift Shop

1PM - 3PM

Find a deal on the move with Tracy Montes!

Open Studios with Jackman Goldwasser Residents

2PM - 5PM

Creative Wing, 2nd Floor

Our Residents on site open their studio doors and welcome you to get up close with their developing work. Don’t be afraid to ask them about their practice and process!

Hot Dog Grill-a-Thon

4PM - 6PM

Outdoor Plaza

Closing Convocation and Community Singing with Angel Bat Dawid & Friends

6PM - 7PM

Outdoor Stage

Angel Bat Dawid, a traditional Music Composer, Improvisor, Pianist, Clarinetist, Vocalist, Artist and member of the Participatory Music Coalition will share a performance and lead us in song and movement. This jam session will center sonic healing and community presentness, join us!