LAB ARTIST 2023

Benji Hart is a Chicago-based author, artist, and educator whose work centers Black radicalism, queer liberation, and prison abolition. Their words have appeared in numerous anthologies, and been published at Time, Teen Vogue, The Advocate, and elsewhere. They have led popular education and arts-based workshops for organizations internationally, including the American Repertory Theater, Young Chicago Authors, and Project NIA. They have read at the Poetry Foundation, Women & Children First, the Guild Literary Complex, and their performances have been featured at La Goyco, Santurce; the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago; and Den Frie, Copenhagen. They have held fellowships with Yaddo, Trillium Arts, MacDowell, and are a 2023 Lab Artist with Chicago Dancemakers Forum.

In conjunction with their ongoing performance project, “World After This One,” Benji will spend the year engaged in movement research, building with mentor artists specifically in the areas of bomba, vogue, and praise dance, working towards a culminating performance in Chicago with workshops and programming in concert with the showing.

Call to Action: Donate to Chicago Torture Justice Center, which provides support for survivors of police violence