Resilience Arts Festival

Thu Oct 23 2025 at 07:00 pm to 10:00 pm UTC-05:00

Definition Theatre | Chicago

Chicago Torture Justice Center
Publisher/HostChicago Torture Justice Center
Resilience Arts Festival
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A theatre festival for and by people impacted by incarceration. Co-created by the Mud Theatre Project and the Chicago Torture Justice Center
About this Event

The Resilience Arts Festival highlights the human experience from the perspective of people impacted by the criminal legal system, told by award-winning writers who have lived it. From torture survivors who have been on Death Row to those who spent decades wrongfully incarcerated, the Resilience Arts Festival utilizes art to transform experiences of isolation into sources of community connection.



Accessibility

Please feel free connect with a member of Definition Theatre staff prior to arrival at [email protected] to arrange any necessary accommodations.


Public Transportation

Definition is a 15 minute walk from the 55/56/57 Metra stop.

If arriving from the Garfield Green Line, take the 55 bus Eastbound toward MSI.


Parking

Parking is free along both 55th Street and S Woodlawn Avenue. Allow for ample time when searching for street parking.

Please know Definition does not operate its own parking facility, nor does it validate for any nearby parking structures.


More info at definitiontheatre.org/visit.


Thursday, October 23

๐Ÿ•‘: 06:00 PM - 06:45 PM
A play by Stanley Howard
Host: Stanley Howard
๐Ÿ•‘: 07:00 PM - 08:00 PM
Stories from Logan Correctional Center
๐Ÿ•‘: 08:00 PM - 09:00 PM
Reception

Info: Meet and mingle with the artists and organizations that are part of the Festival! Refreshments provided.


Friday, October 24

๐Ÿ•‘: 03:00 PM - 05:00 PM
Art Build and Screen Printing
Host: Walls Turned Sideways
๐Ÿ•‘: 05:00 PM - 06:00 PM
Happy Hour

Info: Meet and mingle with the artists and organizations that are part of the Festival! Refreshments provided.


๐Ÿ•‘: 06:00 PM - 07:00 PM
UNTITLED by Marvin Alexis
Host: Marvin Alexis

Info: A one-man play written and performed by Marvin Alexis.


๐Ÿ•‘: 07:30 PM - 09:00 PM
REV X by Anthony Spalding
Host: Anthony Spalding

Info: A one-man play written and performed by Marvin Alexis.


Saturday, October 25

๐Ÿ•‘: 02:00 PM - 03:00 PM
GLOW by Jesse Martinez
Host: Jesse Martinez
๐Ÿ•‘: 03:30 PM - 05:00 PM
Poetry from Inside + The Toussaint Daniels Fellowship
Host: Toussaint Daniels

Info: A reading of original poetry by incarcerated artists submitted to the Toussaint Daniels Emerging Writers Fellowship. Winners of the fellowship will also be announced.


๐Ÿ•‘: 05:00 PM - 07:30 PM
Happy Hour

Info: Meet and mingle with the artists and organizations that are part of the Festival! Refreshments provided.


๐Ÿ•‘: 07:30 PM - 09:00 PM
Ladies Night with Women's Justice Institute and the Logan Center
Host: Reclamation Project Group at Women's Justice Institute

Info: The Reclamation Project Group at Women's Justice Institute presents artwork by women inside Pr*son in collaboration with women who have been released.


Sunday, October 26

๐Ÿ•‘: 02:30 PM - 03:30 PM
Abolition to Abolition
Host: The Mud Theatre Project
๐Ÿ•‘: 03:30 PM - 05:30 PM
Crafting your Story with Reparations Media and Feather Bricks
Host: Feather Bricks

Info: Join Feather Bricks and Reparations Media in a hands-on creative storytelling workshop. System-impacted authors and artists will share their writing process for crafting stories with emotional appeal and impact. Contributors to Feather Bricks magazineโ€“a brave space to celebrate creative, encouraging, and instructive expressions by and about writers serving long-term Pr*son sentences in Illinoisโ€“ and collaborative storytellers from Reparations Mediaโ€™s Change Agents podcast and Our Underground Library civics education series will provide ideas and writing prompts for all to participate.


๐Ÿ•‘: 05:30 PM - 07:00 PM
Happy Hour

Info: Meet and mingle with the artists and organizations that are part of the Festival! Refreshments provided.


๐Ÿ•‘: 07:00 PM - 09:00 PM
Jabrilโ€™s Chains by Brian Beals
Host: The Mud Theatre Project

Info: A performance of Jabril's Chains, a play written by executive director of The Mud Theatre Project, Brian Beals. The play will be followed by a brief talkback.


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Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Definition Theatre, 1160 East 55th Street, Chicago, United States

Tickets

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