Anthropocene Consequences (UIC Day): Currents of a Changing World

Anthropocene Consequences

The Freshwater Lab invites you an upcoming event we are hosting in partnership with the Anthropocene Commons! Join us for 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!

UIC Day: Currents of a Changing World
October 23rd, 2025

Water flows through soil, roots, sky—and through memory, justice, and law. It carries the story of a city learning to live with climate change, carving channels through landscapes, courtrooms, and theaters. These gatherings bring together field notes from struggles where art and law meet activism, in defense of ecologies of livelihood. We walk Chicago’s green spaces, listen to water’s hidden circuits, and ask: What if a tree could testify? What if law flowed like a river? To follow these questions is to step into the currents of our time—attuning ourselves to vertical rivers, shifting lawscapes, and new forms of collective imagination in the Anthropocene.

About Anthropocene Campuses

Do you think climate change is real? Do you care about the relations between art, science, politics and the natural world? Do you envision alternative ways of living in the future – while keeping a close eye on actual modes of life in the present? Would you like to meet new people who are involved with exactly these issues? Anthropocene Campuses are temporary gatherings — intense, open, and provisional — where knowledge is not only shared, but created together. Rooted in place yet oriented toward planetary concerns, these multi-day encounters bring a wide range of disciplines and practices into dialogue, linking local urgencies to global entanglements.

The series is free and open to the public. To register and view the full schedule of events, visit ac-chicago.org.
Safety and accessibility
Gallery 400 is wheelchair accessible. Accessible restrooms and drop-off are available Gallery 400 is wheelchair accessible, though elevator issues may occur—call 312-996-6114 or 312-413-1001 for assistance. Accessible restrooms and drop-off are available, and the nearest parking is the Harrison Street Parking Structure. For additional accommodation requests, please contact [email protected] or 312-996-6114. To request further accommodations, email [email protected].
We are committed to fostering a festival environment that is inclusive, safe and accessible to everyone. We do not tolerate any harassment based on race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, disability, body size, appearance, age or national origin.

COVID-19
If you are sick, stay home. Wear a mask in public if you are at high risk for illness or are sick. For more information and updated guidance, visit cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses.
Notice of filming and photography

Photographers and/or news media may be present at this event. Participating and being present during the event gives the University of Illinois Chicago the right to use photographs or video/audio recordings taken of you during the event for educational or promotional purposes and for sharing with external news media. If you do not wish to appear in photographs or be recorded, please avoid this area at this time or contact an on-site staff member or volunteer.
About The Freshwater Lab

The Freshwater Lab at the University of Illinois Chicago is an initiative to communicate Great Lakes water issues to the general public, create tools to visualize the current state and future scenarios of water sources, engage unaffiliated groups in water planning, and train a new generation of Great Lakes leaders. As we focus on the Great Lakes basin, we also reach outward to build relationships with water stewards from other parts of the world.

Info: Location: Great Space, University of Illinois at Chicago Art and Exhibition Hall, 5 Floor, 400 South Peoria Street Chicago, IL 6060

What are some of the best practices and creative projects addressing questions of climate and heritage justice today? What experiences and wisdom can these projects, and the cultural institutions who are running them, share with each other towards safeguarding indigenous and local heritage landscapes? These landscapes are increasingly vulnerable as part of what we collectively call the Anthropocene consequences. In this panel we will focus on legal battles and art-practice based activism to counter the consequences of extraction and the undermining of communities, and we will hear from its practitioners about their methods and field experiences.

Info: Location: Plant Research Laboratory, 1020 S. Union St., Chicago, Illinois 60607

Guided walk by Max Berkelhammer, Professor, Dept. of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois Chicago

The soil-plant-atmosphere continuum (SPAC) is a conceptual model ecologists and hydrologists use to describe the dynamics of water flow from deep in the soil to the atmosphere as mediated by vegetation. During this meeting, we will walk around the grounds of UIC’s Plant Research Laboratory and look at the many different analytical techniques we are currently using to measure water flow through common trees and turf landscapes that make up Chicago’s green spaces. We will then discuss what these data show us about the hydrology and ecology of Chicago and how it is responding to a changing climate.

Info: Location: Great Space, University of Illinois at Chicago Art and Exhibition Hall, 5 Floor, 400 South Peoria Street Chicago, IL 60607

An evening that begins with 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.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

400 S Peoria St, 400 South Peoria Street, Chicago, United States

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