Delegate Site Visit Selection
In-Person Site Visits
Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center
The mission of Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center is expressed in its founding principle: “Remember the Past, Transform the Future.” The Museum is dedicated to preserving the legacy of the Holocaust by honoring the memories of those who were lost and by teaching universal lessons that combat hatred, prejudice, and indifference. Located in the west suburb of Skokie, delegates will be able to learn more about the Holocaust, death during genocides, and the many intersections between death, genocide, and human rights.
National Museum of Mexican Art
The National Museum of Mexican Art stands out as the most prominent first-voice institution for Mexican art and culture in the United States. It is home to one of the country’s largest Mexican art collections, including more than 18,000 seminal pieces from ancient Mexico to the present. By attending, delegates will be able to explore the NMMA’s hub of Mexican identity and expression—which often explores ideas surrounding death and dying.
International Museum of Surgical Science.
The International Museum of Surgical Science is a museum located in the Gold Coast neighborhood of Chicago. Its mission is to enrich people’s lives by enhancing their appreciation and understanding of the history, development, and advances in surgery and related subjects in health and medicine. Through exhibits such as “Pain & Pain Management,” “Obstetrics and Gynecology,” and “The Hall of Immortals,” we will be able to confront our current ideas of death, often influenced by western biomedicine. Delegates will be able to learn more about modern and historical conceptions of life and death, or rather, how life is prolonged and death is avoided.
Northwestern Student-Led Activist Workshop
Northwestern student activist groups will lead an activist workshop that will teach delegates the tools they need in order to participate in on-the-ground community-based work. This workshop will include the lessons: The Activist’s Toolkit, Mutual Aid Practices, and De-Arrest 101.
Virtual Site Visit
“To Breathe” Virtual Art Gallery
The University of Chicago’s Human Rights Lab and White Snake Projects launched a virtual art gallery, “To Breathe,” as part of their collaboration on a prelude series to the opera Death By Life. The gallery features visual artworks by incarcerated and formerly incarcerated artists, helping to cultivate an ecosystem around Death By Life that allows attendees to more fully immerse themselves in the issues addressed by the opera. Virtual delegates will be guided through this virtual art gallery by a staff member and Peer Leader during their virtual site visit.