For more than 20 years, we’ve celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day at the Art Institute of Chicago. This year, the Art Institute offers live and recorded programs available beginning the week of January 18, prompts for creative projects to engage in as a family, and resources for taking action for equity and justice, even from your own home.

Click here for complete details and registration. Below we include only the live events, but there are recorded and at home activities available as well. 

Rebirth Poetry Ensemble and In the Spirit
Monday, January 18
5:00–6:15

Join Rebirth Poetry Ensemble and the performance duo In the Spirit featuring Zahra Baker and Emily Hooper Lansana. Youth poets from the Rebirth Poetry Ensemble have been performing at the annual King Day festival for several years, and this year they’ve created spoken-word pieces in response to the exhibition Bisa Butler: Portraits. In the Spirit, too, is returning to perform for King Day, bringing to life Butler’s quilts and celebrating the legacy of Dr. King through original stories woven together with rhythm and song.

Virtual Talk: (In)Justice
Wednesday, January 20
2:00-2:45

This participatory experience, inspired by the museum’s collection and Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” explores the many meanings of justice, resistance, and faith.