30 May 2005

JUne 3-5 @ Mess Hall

Michael Blum at MESS HALL

FRIDAY, JUNE 3, 2005
Presentation, Screening and Potluck Dinner!!!
Potluck begins at 7:30
Presentation begins at 8:30

Vienna-based artist Michael Blum will present his video work "17 Aandbloem Street"

"17 Aandbloem Street" (57 min, 2004) is a neighborhood investigation centered around a house in Cape Town. Current and former tenants, neighbors, a homeless man in a wheelchair, an architect, a former top-model and a flower seller are among those who provide stories about the house, its surroundings and the hyper-local power dynamics 10 years after the fall of the apartheid regime. The project addresses both universal and ultra-local issues like gentrification, racial segregation, and neighbor-bashing.

The video is 57 minutes.

Blum is currently in residency at the Austria House in Chicago.

http://www.blumology.net
http://www.blumology.net/aandbloem.html

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Jose Lopez at MESS HALL

6 PM
SATURDAY, JUNE 4, 2005


A Discussion with Jose Lopez on the Military Recruitment of Latino Youth

As the situation in post-Saddam Iraq drags on, the armed forces of the United States are having a difficult time meeting their recruiting goals. Not surprisingly, recruiters are heavily targeting youth from parts of the
country suffering from depressed economic conditions. Latino youth are particularly vulnerable to a range of recruiting methods shaped around the pressures felt by that group. Professor Lopez will offer an analysis of the
situation, and lead a discussion about how we can support youth--and especially youth from Latino populations--in choosing non-military options for their futures.

This event is for anybody who is concerned about the militarization of our schools, or is curious about the range of issues faced by Latino communities today, or who wants to consider ways to oppose the war agenda of our government.

Jose Lopez is an educator who has long been politically active in a variety of causes. He is the Executive Director of the Puerto Rican Cultural Center. He played a central role in the campaign that in 1999 successfully freed 11
jailed members of the FALN, the main vehicle for the Puerto Rican independence movement in the 1970s. He has also been involved in many projects critical of 'control unit' incarceration.

This event is part of the Geography of War project by Harold Mendez, which calls attention to the violence embedded in the imaginative worlds of children (especially boys!), as evidenced by their playthings. Harold's work
is on the walls of Mess Hall now. It's been a while since the Mess Hall walls have been covered, so come check it out.

You can participate in Harold's ongoing project by donated any old, unwanted, or broken toy weapons you or your kids might have lying around thehouse. Just bring them by Mess Hall on Saturday between 1 and 5 PM.


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MESS HALL
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6932 North Glenwood, Rogers Park, Chicago
'Morse' stop on the Red Line
Phone: (773) 465-4033. Best for calling on day of events.
Email: messhall8@yahoo.com
Web: http://www.messhall.org/
Calendar: plus.calendars.net/messhall