Arts + Public Life welcomes you to a night of high-frequency culture centered around a screening of BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions. A distinctive cinematic experience, Kahlil Joseph’s film mirrors the sonic textures of a record album, weaving fiction and history in an immersive journey where the fictionalized figures of W. E. B Du Bois and Marcus Garvey join artists, musicians, Joseph's family, and even Twitter chats, in a vision for Black consciousness. This special event transforms the cinematic experience into a living environment where film and hip-hop culture collide to answer the question, Do you remember the future?.
Following the film screening, the evening continues with a series of activations designed to mirror the energy from the screen. Expect a night of movement and making featuring a live DJ set and art-making stations alongside space for drinks, small bites and discussion.
Joining us for this takeover are featured artists:
Film and culture critic Cortlyn Kelly
Artist and architect Jason Campbell
Artist, educator and activist Stef Skillse
Culture writer Britt Julius
Film scholar AE Stevenson
Sociologist Kristen Schilt
Dancers: Alyssa Gregory, Kierah King, Kasey Alfonso, Rahila Coates
Music By: Hameedullah
Program:
6:00pm | Reception + DJ
6:30pm | Film Screening Begins film runs for 2hrs
8:30pm | Post Film Activations
Presented by Arts + Public Life with generous support from the Department of Sociology’s Ethnography Incubator, the Department of Race, Diaspora and Indigeneity, the Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality, the Film Studies Center, the Center for the Study of Race, Politics and Culture and the Center for Contemporary Theory (3CT).
ABOUT THE FILM
Adapted from Kahlil Joseph’s renowned video art installation BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions is a distinctive cinematic experience that mirrors the sonic textures of a record album. The film weaves fiction and history into an immersive journey where fictionalized figures of W. E. B. Du Bois and Marcus Garvey join artists and musicians and Joseph’s own family to present a bold vision for the future.
Presented by Arts + Public Life with generous support from the Department of Sociology’s Ethnography Incubator, the Department of Race, Diaspora and Indigeneity, the Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality, the Film Studies Center, the Center for the Study of Race, Politics and Culture and the Center for Contemporary Theory (3CT).
Cortlyn Kelly
Cortlyn Kelly, Chicago-born and based, is a film and culture critic, personal essayist, art appreciator, avid baseball fan, and forever student. Since the first grade, her approach to all endeavors is: “There is so much to learn.”
She holds a Bachelor of Science from UW-La Crosse and a Master of Arts in Humanities from the University of Chicago. Since graduating, she has been recognized as the 2023 Rotten Tomatoes and Chicago Film Critics Association Emerging Critic, participated in Arts + Public Life Chicago Critics’ Table 2025 cohort, and continues to self-publish new iterations of her creative thesis, The Art Idiot.
In addition to regular contributions to RogerEbert.com and the Chicago Reader, she sits as the Co-Chair for the Black Harvest Film Festival Community Council, produces creative events and projects, goes for walks around Chicago, and giggles with her friends and family.
Jason Campbell
ell is an art and design practice led by Jason Campbell, the practice blurs the lines between architecture, installation, and archival research. Campbell is a master of the "inbetween," finding creative fire in derelict spaces and the complex narratives of memory and care.
From being named a BD+C 40 Under 40 honoree to receiving a 2025 Graham Foundation grant, Campbell is a rising force in the field. His latest work is currently headlining at the Chicago Architecture Biennial. Whether teaching advanced studios at UC Berkeley or exhibiting across the country, Campbell proves that the most "incompatible" ideas often produce the most electrifying results.
Stef Skills
Stef Skills is a Chicago artist, educator and activist with a passion public art. In her nearly 30-year career she has established herself as a prominent female voice and leader in the local and international graffiti arts community. Stef’s public art and commissioned works can be found throughout the city as well as in New York, Pittsburgh, London, San Francisco, Minneapolis, Miami, Visalia (CA), Barcelona, Mexico City, Puerto Rico, Nicaragua and Costa Rica, where she has also held residencies and been a featured artist in gallery shows, panels, exhibitions and festivals. Stef’s artwork and impact have been featured Graffiti Women (Abrams 2006), Heart & Soul (Younity 2008) and the History of American Graffiti (Harper Collins 2011) and as part of The Chicago Reader’s 2014 People Issue. She continues to develop work that combines street art elements with botanical illustration typical of her Costa Rican heritage.
Hameedullah
Hailing from Chicago, educator, beatmaker, and DJ, Hameedullah takes and blends from his disciplines to create music and experiences that are uniquely his own. Under his label Lunt and Oglesby, the artist’s passion for vinyl, DJ’ing, and electronic music is platformed and championed through his self-released projects, inventive programming, and YouTube content. A staple in Miyagi Records' community, Hameedullah teaches and mentors Chicago's emerging DJs with their intro level 101 course.