The Invisible Institute Presents Author Michelle Alexander, hosted by Steve Edwards
The Invisible Institute, a program of the Experimental Station, is honored to present Michelle Alexander in a public conversation about her book The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. Chicago Public Radio's Steve Edwards will lead a discussion of Professor Alexander's book, which will be available for purchase.
The event will take place on Wednesday, February 24, at 7pm. It is free, open to the public, and wheelchair accessible.
A professor at Moritz College of Law at Ohio State University, Ms. Alexander has written a book on the perplexing and distressing status of race and the American justice system. From the book's jacket:
61st Street Farmers Market Double Value Coupon Program in the Chicago Tribune
Our 61st Street Farmers Market's Double Value Coupon program is generating buzz! Monica Eng joined Chef and Wholesome Wave Foundation CEO Michel Nischan on a visit to our 10/3 market, which had the most EBT transactions in our history! Read about it here.
Blackstone Bicycle Works In The News
Blackstone Bicycle Works, a program of the Experimental Station, was featured on WGN in a piece by Marcus Leshock, which is now available on YouTube:
Click here to see another short clip about Blackstone Bicycle Works and its youth program. This clip was shot and aired last month on Fuel TV, a cable channel focused on action sports and music.
Return of the Baffler
For those of you familiar with the Experimental Station's history, you'll know that for many years before our building formally became the Experimental Station, it housed the Baffler, a journal of cultural and political criticism whose creed was to "blunt the cutting edge." Founded by fringe intellectual-cum-bestselling author of What's the Matter with Kansas? and The Wrecking Crew Thomas Frank along with current publisher of Congressional Quarterly Keith White, The Baffler published issues on a decidedly irregular, roughly annual basis until disappearing from bookstore shelves in 2006.
Backstory Cafe
If you haven't yet been to Backstory Cafe, you are missing something.
Come and check out their inviting space, their slow-drip brewed Metropolis coffees and variety of teas, their ever-so-moist and delicious pastries and lunchtime soups and sandwiches (turkey, corned beef, hummus and veggie, and more!). Backstory also offers free Wifi. Winter hours are Monday-Saturday 8am-6pm.
Backstory Cafe is located at the Experimental Station, on the Blackstone Avenue (east) side of the building.
Backstory's mission is to be a small coffee/tea house and cafe and neighborhood meeting place, a site for social engagement. For more information about Backstory's mission and goals, continue reading...
Michael R. Malec McKenna Memorial Fund
If you would like to donate to the Michael R. Malec McKenna Memorial Fund online, please use our PayPal Donation button on the right. When you make your donation, please type "Memorial Fund" in the space provided.
If you prefer to send a check, please make it payable to "Experimental Station" and note "Memorial Fund" on the Memo line. Mail it to: Experimental Station, 6100 S. Blackstone Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637.
Your donations will help to support Blackstone Bicycle Works, our youth education program, which serves boys and girls from the Woodlawn neighborhood. We thank you in advance for your kind generosity.
Downtime at the Experimental Station
Downtime at the Experimental Station: A conversation with Dan Peterman, By Dan S. Wang - September, 2004
Dan S. Wang interviewed Dan Peterman about a range of topics: Peterman's art practice, the community that inhabited the building at 61st Street and Dorchester, the fire that destroyed the building, the struggle against the city to rebuild, and the rebirth of the building as the Experimental Station.
The complete text is available as a free PDF download from Temporary Services.
Green Roof Garden
Thanks to a $5000 grant award from the City of Chicago Department of the Environment, the Experimental Station has installed the first portion of its roof top garden this past September. Some 400 square feet of our 10,000 square foot roof now grows eight varieties of sedum, planted in 2' x 2' x 4" containers called "Green Roof Blocks" and 3' x 2' sacks called "Green Paks". Both products were purchased from St. Louis Metalworks.
