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Collaboraction presents This is North Lawndale by Willie “Prince Roc” Round Round is a songwriter, playwright, videographer and hip-hop artist who mentors youth through his own program, MUD LIFE (Motivating the Urban to be Determined). In This is North Lawndale, he interviews residents about life on Chicago’s West side during Covid-19 with heartfelt interviews with community-based organizations, small business owners, and parents. This is North Lawndale is a part of the Essential Perspectives program of the 5th annual Peacebook Festival. Peacebook's Essential Perspectives features 5 videos about community resilience to Covid-19 in Chicago and is partially funded by the Illinois Humanities Community Resilience Grant. Peacebook's Visions of Peace program features 5 videos about peace by Chicago artists. Peacebook is a part of Collaboraction's We Still Dream campaign that includes Lift Every Voice (premiering on Oct. 23, 24 and 25th) and The Utopian Ball on Nov. 14th. Go to collaboraction.org for tickets, bios, to become a member of the Together Network and to make a donation to support this work. Collaboraction's mission is to incite social change through artistic projects with deep community collaboration and engagement that cultivate knowledge, empathy, dialogue and change. A new video will be released to Collaboraction's YouTube Channel and Facebook page each day for 10 days starting Oct. 19, 2020. Make sure to SUBSCRIBE to this page to see them all.

Collaboraction presents Pressure By Mia Park Struggle, acceptance, and understanding are crucial to developing resilience. These Daoist principles can describe how Chicago Asian Americans struggle with racism over the Covid-19 pandemic, accept that this pressure is a part of the American experience, and understand that we're all doing the best we can. Park, a multidimensional, Chicago based artist, actor, and creator of Our Perspective: Asian American Plays, talks with Asian Americans in Chicago who have experienced blaming and shaming about Covid-19. Pressure is a part of the Essential Perspectives program of the 5th annual Peacebook Festival. Peacebook's Essential Perspectives features 5 videos about community resilience to Covid-19 in Chicago and is partially funded by the Illinois Humanities Community Resilience Grant. Peacebook's Visions of Peace program features 5 videos about peace by Chicago artists. Peacebook is a part of Collaboraction's We Still Dream campaign that includes Lift Every Voice (premiering on Oct. 23, 24 and 25th) and The Utopian Ball on Nov. 14th. Go to www.collaboraction.org for tickets, bios, to become a member of the Together Network and to make a donation to support this work. Collaboraction's mission is to incite social change through artistic projects with deep community collaboration and engagement that cultivate knowledge, empathy, dialogue and change. A new video will be released to Collaboraction's YouTube Channel and Facebook page each day for 10 days starting Oct. 19, 2020. Make sure to SUBSCRIBE to this page to see them all.

Collaboraction presents Transfixed By Sami Ismat Ismat, a Syrian refugee in Chicago, explores being isolated and stuck between two places as he seeks political asylum in the U.S. while mourning his father’s recent passing, Syria’s former Director of Culture, due to Covid-19. Transfixed uses the green screen and the virtual chatting as core elements relevant to the current moment aesthetics. Transfixed is a part of the Essential Perspectives program of the 5th annual Peacebook Festival. Peacebook's Essential Perspectives features 5 videos about community resilience to Covid-19 in Chicago and is partially funded by the Illinois Humanities Community Resilience Grant. Peacebook's Visions of Peace program features 5 videos about peace by Chicago artists. Peacebook is a part of Collaboraction's We Still Dream campaign that includes Lift Every Voice (premiering on Oct. 23, 24 and 25th) and The Utopian Ball on Nov. 14th. Go to www.collaboraction.org for tickets, bios, to become a member of the Together Network and to make a donation to support this work. Collaboraction's mission is to incite social change through artistic projects with deep community collaboration and engagement that cultivate knowledge, empathy, dialogue and change. A new video will be released to Collaboraction's YouTube Channel and Facebook page each day for 10 days starting Oct. 19, 2020. Make sure to SUBSCRIBE to this page to see them all.

Collaboraction presents Essential?...”Tengo que trabajar/ I have to work” by Jasmin Cardenas Covid-19 hit, and working people were in the direct line of fire. How are workers surviving this loss of work? When the professional class sheltered in place for conference calls and Zoom meetings, what happened to the most vulnerable that work in the cash economy, temp workers, low wage workers? Cardenas draws on her experience devising theater to fight for workers’ rights with the Chicago Workers Collaborative’s Workers Resistance Theater to interviews Latinx undocumented workers struggling with the impact of Covid-19. From Back of the Yards, Marquette Park, and North Lawndale, Chicago workers tell us where they find hope. Essential? is a part of the Essential Perspectives program of the 5th annual Peacebook Festival. Peacebook's Essential Perspectives features 5 videos about community resilience to Covid-19 in Chicago and is partially funded by the Illinois Humanities Community Resilience Grant. Peacebook's Visions of Peace program features 5 videos about peace by Chicago artists. Peacebook is a part of Collaboraction's We Still Dream campaign that includes Lift Every Voice (premiering on Oct. 23, 24 and 25th) and The Utopian Ball on Nov. 14th. Go to collaboraction.org for tickets, bios, to become a member of the Together Network and to make a donation to support this work. Collaboraction's mission is to incite social change through artistic projects with deep community collaboration and engagement that cultivate knowledge, empathy, dialogue and change. A new video will be released to Collaboraction's YouTube Channel and Facebook page each day for 10 days starting Oct. 19, 2020. Make sure to SUBSCRIBE to this page to see them all. ​

Collaboraction presents Rose From the Concrete by Teh’Ray Hale Sr. aka PHENOM Hip-hop artist and activist Phenom, Collaboraction’s Director of Creative Community Cultivation, talks with South side residents who have recovered from Covid-19 to illustrate the beauty that arises from a community surrounded in "hardships" and now stands as a Rose of hope to others seeking to grow while living in similarly challenging conditions. Phenom has worked with First Lady Michelle Obama to teach youth about violence prevention, was founder and CEO of POETREE Chicago, and runs EmceeSkool which trains young artists to be Peace Ambassadors. Rose From the Concrete is a part of the Essential Perspectives program of the 5th annual Peacebook Festival. Peacebook's Essential Perspectives features 5 videos about community resilience to Covid-19 in Chicago and is partially funded by the Illinois Humanities Community Resilience Grant. Peacebook's Visions of Peace program features 5 videos about peace by Chicago artists. Peacebook is a part of Collaboraction's We Still Dream campaign that includes Lift Every Voice (premiering on Oct. 23, 24 and 25th) and The Utopian Ball on Nov. 14th. Go to collaboraction.org for tickets, bios, to become a member of the Together Network and to make a donation to support this work. Collaboraction's mission is to incite social change through artistic projects with deep community collaboration and engagement that cultivate knowledge, empathy, dialogue and change. A new video will be released to Collaboraction's YouTube Channel and Facebook page each day for 10 days starting Oct. 19, 2020. Make sure to SUBSCRIBE to this page to see them all.

Collaboraction presents Back To Me by Darling Squire Squire, a Black trans woman, dancer and choreographer, fuses dance and poetry to pay homage to the music of her youth that has served as the foundation of her choreographic language. The days when dance was new to her and she would spend hours dancing in the studio, flying above the clouds and frolicking with the birds and bees like the winds whirling through the trees. Back To Me is a part of the Visions of Peace program of the 5th annual Peacebook Festival which features 5 videos about peace by Chicago artists. Peacebook is a part of Collaboraction's We Still Dream campaign that includes Lift Every Voice (premiering on Oct. 23, 24 and 25th) and The Utopian Ball on Nov. 14th. Go to collaboraction.org for tickets, bios, to become a member of the Together Network and to make a donation to support this work. Collaboraction's mission is to incite social change through artistic projects with deep community collaboration and engagement that cultivate knowledge, empathy, dialogue and change. A new video will be released to Collaboraction's YouTube Channel and Facebook page each day for 10 days starting Oct. 19, 2020. Make sure to SUBSCRIBE to this page to see them all.

Collaboraction presents A Letter to My Younger Self by Ada Cheng Cheng, a Chicago storyteller, educator and producer, shares a story about a series of emails with a young Asian American student who experienced a racist incident related to Covid-19. How does one overcome cultural conditioning and respond to bias and prejudice stemming from anti-Asian racism in the midst of the pandemic? How does one build solidarity with others in times of crisis and injustice? A Letter to My Younger Self is a part of the Peacebook Visions of Peace program features 5 videos about peace by Chicago artists. Peacebook is a part of Collaboraction's We Still Dream campaign that includes Lift Every Voice (premiering on Oct. 23, 24 and 25th) and The Utopian Ball on Nov. 14th. Go to collaboraction.org for tickets, bios, to become a member of the Together Network and to make a donation to support this work. Collaboraction's mission is to incite social change through artistic projects with deep community collaboration and engagement that cultivate knowledge, empathy, dialogue and change. A new video will be released to Collaboraction's YouTube Channel and Facebook page each day for 10 days starting Oct. 19, 2020. Make sure to SUBSCRIBE to this page to see them all. *CONTENT NOTICE: HARASSMENT*

Collaboraction presents Brother! Blackbird by Vernon D. Gooden in collaboration with Ashley Wilkerson What would it be like to meet your past and future versions of yourself? Would present self advise your past self differently? In Brother! Blackbird, Gooden, an activist, choreographer and former Paul Taylor dancer, uses dance and storytelling to explore liberation from cages and themes of identity, including sexuality, gender, race, culture and faith. Brother! Blackbird is a part of the Visions of Peace program of the 5th annual Peacebook Festival which features 5 videos about peace by Chicago artists. Peacebook is a part of Collaboraction's We Still Dream campaign that includes Lift Every Voice (premiering on Oct. 23, 24 and 25th) and The Utopian Ball on Nov. 14th. Go to collaboraction.org for tickets, bios, to become a member of the Together Network and to make a donation to support this work. Collaboraction's mission is to incite social change through artistic projects with deep community collaboration and engagement that cultivate knowledge, empathy, dialogue and change. A new video will be released to Collaboraction's YouTube Channel and Facebook page each day for 10 days starting Oct. 19, 2020. Make sure to SUBSCRIBE to this page to see them all.