In partnership with Land & Sea Dept., Illinois Humanities presents the eighth volume of Elective Studies Supper Club for Illinois artists, featuring a lecture by Dr. Beryl Satter, author of Family Properties: Race, Real Estate, and the Exploitation of Black Urban America, a meal by chef Matt Danko of Sink|Swim, and an opening drink by Land & Sea Dept. Beverage Director Paul McGee.
This event is part of our Elective Studies series, created to help artists find inspiration from the world around them. Through a combination of lectures by top-tier experts and meals crafted by the city’s finest chefs, these convenings are designed to unite, inspire, nourish, and connect.
With generous support from The Joyce Foundation, and sponsorship by Death’s Door Spirits and Lagunitas Brewing Company.
MORE ON THE LECTURE:
Cons and Contracts: What the History of Real Estate Speculation in Chicago can Teach America
Dr. Beryl Satter
Rutgers University-Newark
Author and professor Beryl Satter will show how real estate professionals’ exploitation of black Chicagoans’ need for housing helps explain the troubled condition of many black urban neighborhoods in Chicago and elsewhere.
Beryl Satter is a professor of history at Rutgers University-Newark. Her book Family Properties: Race, Real Estate, and the Exploitation of Black Urban America, won the Liberty Legacy Award and the National Jewish Book Award for History, and was a finalist for the Lukas Book Prize. For her current book project on the history of ShoreBank, a pioneering community development bank holding company, Satter was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2015 and an Andrew Carnegie Fellowship in 2016.
Dr. Satter is a co-founder of the Queer Newark Oral History Project, and has received several awards for her work on behalf of LGBT youth. She is the author of scholarly articles on topics ranging from black police officers’ struggles against police brutality to the role of therapeutic practices the New Left. She has been interviewed about housing discrimination and police brutality on numerous radio programs and by many media outlets. Ta-Nehisi Coates drew upon her work on contract selling in Chicago for his award-winning article “The Case for Reparations.”
MORE ON THE CHEF:
Matt Danko, executive chef of Scofflaw Group’s newest venture, Sink|Swim, is a Cleveland native and former art teacher who brings his love of technique and aesthetic to his culinary career. Since transitioning his passion for cooking from part-time hobby to full-time job more than six years ago, Danko has garnered a number of accolades including: 2012 Eater “Young Gun” award; 2013 James Beard “Outstanding Pastry Chef” Semifinalist nomination; and 2013 Food & Wine “People’s Best New Pastry Chef” nomination.
While attending art school, Danko developed his never-ending pursuit of knowledge. Initially cultivated as attention to the crafts of printmaking, painting, drawing, sculpting, ceramics, Danko is always seeking the best possible technique. This focused curiosity led to his quick ascent through the ranks at Cleveland’s renowned The Greenhouse Tavern and ultimately to his leadership role as executive chef of Trentina.
As a chef, Danko likes to consider the functionality of each ingredient in a dish, and how to compose that dish to best deliver it to his guests. Given this approach, he prefers to cook in season with the freshest produce possible, and takes pride in forming trusted relationships with local purveyors to pursue that purpose.
If you are interested in being added to the list of artists invited to these gatherings, please email electivestudies@ilhumanities.org.
If you require a sign interpreter or any other arrangements to fully participate in this program, please contact info@ilhumanities.org at least 72 hours in advance of the event.