We held a four-day series of events and activities at the University of Illinois at Chicago, the Narrow Bridge Arts Club and Watershed Art & Ecology, from October 23 to 26.

We held a collective experiment in ecological science, environmental justice, artistic activism and organizing under increasingly chaotic conditions, with a focus on Chicago, the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River Watershed.

Talks by Dr. Ömür Harmanşah (Director, School of Art & Art History and Associate Professor at UIC), David Henkin (earthJustice, Environmental Lawyer), Stephanie Smith (independent curator and writer), Mariah Mata (Policy Fellow at the Chicago Environmental Justice Network), Dr. Morag Kersel (Professor of Anthropology, DePaul University), and Dr. Caitlin Southwick (Founder and Executive Director of Ki Culture and Ki Futures).

Followed by a lecture performance by Berlin-based playwright Kevin Rittberger, followed by a conversation on art, law, and the climate crisis. How might theater help us think through—and reimagine—our relationships across species, as well as the connections between activists, artists, and lawmakers? What if whales could speak on their own behalf in court? Which lawscapes are still to come? We invite participants into a discussion and a shared act of co-creating theater that gives voice to these questions and opens space for new forms of collective imagination.

Kevin Rittberger, theater director; Virginia Harding, Retired Adjunct Professor of Real Estate Law and Transactional Real Estate Attorney.

Celeste Hammond, (Professor, Institute for Energy Science (IESP), Affiliated Faculty) UIC School of Law; Prof. Rachel Havrelock, UIC College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.