Toward Common Cause is predicated on the idea that art is a catalyst for social change and a vital common space for speculation, reflection, and action. The exhibition addresses critical issues raised by participating artists and serves to facilitate dialogue—between artists, Chicago residents, youth, policy makers, scholars, advocates and activists, and others—and advance actions that impact real world issues.

Feeling inspired? Here are a few of the ways you can get involved:

Support local organizations

Toward Common Cause is made in collaboration with dozens of partner organizations representing and serving different neighborhoods and communities around Chicago. Show your support for the myriad of ways their work helps us all imagine a more equitable future by volunteering your time, making a gift, showing up, and spreading the word.

Create a Fundred

Make a Fundred and add your own original work of art to the exhibition! Mel Chin’s Chicago Fundred Initiative: A Bill for IL is an ongoing collective art project that calls attention to the danger of childhood lead poisoning. Pick up a Fundred template, submit your own hand-drawn interpretation of a $100 bill, and help demonstrate the value we collectively place on healthier communities, lead-safe homes, equal protection from environmental pollution, and the future of all children.

Additional resources:

Request a free lead test kit from the City of Chicago’s Department of Water Management
Read about the Lead-Safe Housing for Kids Act of 2020, proposed legislation that seeks to remedy lead-based paint hazards.

Join in a program

From virtual talks to art-making workshops to events that bring together scholars, activists, and policy makers, Toward Common Cause offers an array of opportunities to delve deeper. Check the calendar of upcoming events and browse the video library for recordings of past programs.

Tap into Resources for Teaching

A network of Toward Common Cause partners and educators are developing resources for teaching and learning that happens remotely, in the field, and in the classroom. Access teaching and learning resources designed for K–12 educators, including mini lessons, grade level-appropriate guiding questions, and suggested student prompts.

Write a Letter to the Museum of the Future

At the start of 2021, Guillermo Gómez-Peña presented a performance keynote and call to action: An Open Letter to the Museum of the Future. The performance challenges contemporary art museum practices, calls for an open discussion regarding radical restructuring from within, and closes with an open invitation to share back. Stream the keynote and add your own voice by sending an e-mail to tomuseumsofthefuture@gmail.com or by leaving a message at 773.823.9700.

Make a gift

Consider making a gift in support of the Smart Museum of Art. The Museum’s Fund for Art, Smart, and Social Change was developed as a vehicle to optimize the impact of Toward Common Cause and in support of future collaborative programs that address the pressing cultural, social, and political issues of our moment.

Toward Common Cause

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