Events

Upcoming Events

Sunday, June 8, 2008
Voter Registration Drive at Apna Ghar 5K Run/Walk
Two shifts available: 8:00am-10:00am or 10:00am-12:00pm

Meet in Lincoln Park at Barry Ave. and Lake Shore West [at the Sewing Empowers Women (SEW) tent]. Look for people that are carrying clipboards with "Voter Registration" on them (or ask for Priya, Asim, or Reena).

RSVP: Contact Asim Mishra at 773.633.0829 or asim.mishra@gmail.com

Join SAPAC and South Asians for Obama - Chicago (SAFO) for a nonpartisan voter registration drive at the Stride Against Violence 5K Walk/Fun Run, benefiting Apna Ghar, a domestic violence shelter serving primarily Asian women and children.

The voter registration drive, as all our voter registration drives, is nonpartisan and any political activity or endorsement of any candidate is strictly prohibited. 

Past Events

2008

January 31, 2008: Wine Tasting with Alpana Singh to Benefit Survivors of Cyclone Sidr

Ekya, in partnership with SAPAC, hosted a sold-out wine-tasting fundraiser to benefit Cyclone Sidr relief efforts of the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC). Cyclone Sidr struck Southern Bangladesh on November 15, 2007. The magnitude of the cyclone resulted in more than 3,300 deaths and approximately 8.5 million affected in devastating ways. Even six weeks after the storm, millions remain without food, shelter, and drinking water.

Master Sommelier Alpana Singh, Lettuce Entertain You Enterprise’s Wine and Spirit Director, prepared a new 12-wine tasting themed "Wines of the Zodiac." Alpana discussed her selections and shared her wealth of wine knowledge. In addition to the wine & food, we held a silent auction and art sale featuring rural South Asian artists.

If you could not make it but would still like to donate, click here.

2007

April 27, 2007: Voices of Resistance 6

SAPAC partnered with DesiLit to present this year's annual performing arts showcase, whose theme was Chai Tea Latte: An Exploration of Truth and Illusions. Pictures and details coming soon!

April 26-29, 2007: Kriti Literary Festival

DesiLit presented the second biennial Kriti South Asian Literary Festival at University of Illinois at Chicago and Roosevelt University. The event was a huge success! Learn more about the festival at DesiLit's website and the Kriti MySpace page. 

2006

November 7, 2006: Mid-Term Election Day

Members of SAPAC, the Indo-American Center, the Indo-American Democratic Organization, and the Albany Park Neighborhood Council joined residents of the 50th Ward to get out the vote in their community. From 6am to 7pm, over 65 volunteers acted as pollwatchers, knocked on doors, and called the 870+ people they registered over the summer to remind them of the importance of voting.

August 13 & 19, 2006: Voter Registration at Independence Day celebrations

SAPAC and its New Americans Vote collaborative partners joined the Pakistani and Indian Independence Day festivities and registered dozens of voters in the 50th Ward's South Asian community.

July 14, 2006: Press conference to Kick-off Voter Registration Campaign

SAPAC and its New Americans Vote collaborative partners held a press conference at the Indo-American Center to kick-off their 2006 voter registration and mobilization campaign. The campaign focuses on the South Asian/immigrant community in Chicago's West Ridge/50th Ward neighborhood and runs through the November 7, 2006 Election Day.

May 5, 2006: Voices of Resistance 5

Voices of Resistance 5 (VOR5) is the fifth incarnation of SAPAC's popular annual event. It is a space for South Asian artists to come together and share their voices. It is an exploration and an affirmative journey of South Asian diasporic identity. VOR5 envisions using art as a powerful means of social commentary.

This year's VOR focused on the theme MEMORY and CHOICE. The participants and audience  experienced various forms of art grounded in collective and personal memories, as well as choices we have made or have yet to shape our future goals. VOR5 was followed by Chicago's very own dynamic band Funkadesi. We had a record turnout and can't wait for VOR6 in Spring 2007!

The event was co-sponsored by SAPAC, DesiLit, and the HotHouse. The opening reception was co-sponsored by SAPAC and BlankKanvas.

May 1, 2006: March for Immigrant Rights

SAPAC joined several South Asian community and other immigrant groups to sponsor the May 1st March for Immigrant Rights. We made our own signs, walked in the Asian American community feeder march to Union Park, and then joined the massive 300,000+ person march on downtown Chicago into Grant Park for a rally with political and religious leaders. Following the march, we continued to meet with other leaders in the South Asian community to develop further plans for local community empowerment. 

January 28, 2006: 3rd I screening
Second Generation by Jon Sen

UK, 2003, 138 min., Video, Documentary.  A fresh contemporary British South Asian made-for-television film that has it all: Second generation youth living their lives in sync with the pulse of their city-- London. The new generation are liberated in their sexual exploits, entangled in family intrigue, and invested in making it in business, and in the underground Asian music scene. The dream cast includes Parminder Nagra (ER, Bend It Like Beckham), Om Puri (East is East), Anupam Kher (Beckham),Rita Wolf (My Beautiful Laundrette), Roshan Seth (Gandhi) while Asian Underground musician Nitin Sawhney provides the electrifying soundtrack.

2005

December 7, 2005: 3rd I screening
Festival of International South Asian Shorts, followed by panel discussion

AMAL by Richie Mehta - a charming, engrossing story of a humble rickshaw driver in chaotic New Delhi.  ARRANGED MARRIAGE by G D Jayalakshmi - Shashi is in love with a white boy in Scotland, so her parents send her to India for a more suitable match arranged by her grandparents.  WAXED POETIC by Keshni Kashyap - a little ode to the ancient Indian beauty practice of hair waxing.  GOOD THING by Keshni Kashyap - an award-winning, insightful and bittersweet tale of a despondent husband grappling with the question of whether you can ever find what you're looking for.  THE WAITER by Nilesh Patel - a clash of cultures between London's East End and Cambridge.  CALL CENTER by Amyn Kaderali - a comic spoof about the joys of "outsourcing" from the U.S. to India.  HOLLY-BOLLY by Dishad Husain - two young filmmakers are forced to make the ultimate cross-genre film; unfortunately for them, it's a cross between "British Gangster" and Indian Bollywood.

November 10-13, 2005: Kriti (Creation) Literary Festival
Chicago’s first South Asian literary festival

Kriti 2005 was a four-day event featuring writers and performers from the South Asian diaspora reading and discussing their work. It was organized by DesiLit, co-sponsored by SAPAC, and many SAPAC members were key organizers of the festival.  Kriti will return in 2007 to Chicago.

June 24, 2005: Shri Harsh Mander

Mr. Mander is a strong voice in India for social justice, pluralism, religious tolerance, communal harmony and the rule of law. He is a respected activist, a well-known public speaker and a reputed author. He was awarded the Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award for peace work, and the M.A.Thomas National Human Rights Award in 2002.  Mr. Mander spoke about strengthening Indian democracy and promoting social justice. (The event was organized by Building Bridges of Understanding; SAPAC was a co-sponsor.)

May 17, 2005: Kaya Taran

SAPAC was a co-sponsor of the Chicago debut screening of Kaya Taran, a new film by Sashi Kumar, at St. Xavier’s University. The film straddles two traumatic events in recent Indian history: the 1984 anti-Sikh carnage following the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and the anti Muslim riots in Gujarat in 2002. More information about the film can be found at www.kayataran.com. 

April 22, 2005: Voices of Resistance 4

Voices of Resistance 4 (VOR4) is an annual event—a space for South Asian artists to come together and let their voices be heard. It is an exploration and affirmation of South Asian diasporic identity. This year’s VOR focused on the theme Looking forward/ Looking Back and took place at Insight Arts in Rogers Park.

April 8-9, 2005: Nigaah - a festival of South Asian queer film

Nigaah is an Urdu word which means "perspective' -- one that sees and celebrates difference, and recognizes individuals and desires beyond socially sanctioned ideas of 'normal' or 'natural' sexual behavior. Nigaah featured queer films and speakers from South Asia and the South Asian diaspora and took place on April 8 at Chicago Filmmakers, and from 12-6pm on April 9 at the University of Chicago. Films included Tehdi Lakeer, Beauty Parlour, BomGay, Calcutta Pride March 2004, and many more.

March 21, 2005: Nilofer Ahsan appears on Chicago Public Radio's Worldview

Members of Chicago's Indo-Pak Peace and Goodwill Network, including SAPAC member Nilofer Ahsan, recounted their trip to India and Pakistan, where they met with political and business leaders to encourage the two nuclear nations to find a peaceful solution to their longstanding problems. Listen to the segment.

March 15, 2005: Sapna Gupta appears on Asia Pacific Forum radio

SAPAC member Sapna Gupta discussed the goals of the Coalition Against Genocide on the Asia Pacific Forum on New York City's WBAI 99.5FM. Listen to the segment.

March 8, 2005: Protesting the Dow Stalls at Chicago Industrial Week on International Women’s Day

Four supporters of the Bhopal cause visited the stalls to protest Dow’s failure to acknowledge the Bhopal disaster and fairly compensate victims. Read more about their experience.

February 26, 2005: Reception on Devon Avenue to honor the members of the Indian-Pakistani peace delegation and to discuss the ongoing peace effort between the two nations

In December 2004, a joint delegation of individuals of Indian and Pakistani origins currently living in Canada, the U.K., and the U.S. visited India and Pakistan to encourage the two nations to find peaceful solutions to their long standing problems and to help create friendship and goodwill between people living on both sides of the border.  Five of the 23 delegates were from the Chicago area and they spoke at the reception about their meeting with key leaders from Sonia Gandhi to Shaukat Aziz.  The event brought together representatives from the Indian and Pakistani communities to discuss strategies to improve relations between South Asian communities here in Chicago and in the sub-continent. Co-hosted by Building Bridges of Understanding, Indo-Pakistani Friendship Society, and the South Asian Group for Action and Reflection (SAGAR).

February 19, 2005: 3rd I Chicago Presents South Asian Women Shorts

A Secret Language by Arti Jain takes us on a sweet and sour emotional journey of big hopes and little disappointments in a ten years old girls life. 2:38 by Kirthi Nath explores a single moment, widening into a state of mind, a mood. Panchali by Alka Raghuram - the ancient Indian myth of princess Panchali's disrobement haunts a woman as she tries to escape her stalker. Waxed Poetic by Keshni Kashyap - a little ode to the ancient Indian beauty practice of hair waxing. Hole by Keshni Kashyap - a hilarious treatise on love and longing, and that mysterious void many women sometimes find themselves edging towards. Propagandhi by Single Beige Female chronicles the messages of dissent in Bay Area protests against the war on Iraq. THE GREAT GAME: A New World Order? by Sarina Khan Reddy - the collapsing boundaries between news, documentaries and Hollywood movies. Yours by Kirthi Nath - an experimental narrative about a family moving out of an apartment, what they choose to remember and experience, and what they want to leave behind.

2004

December 7, 2004: 3rd I screening
Festival of International South Asian Shorts, followed by panel discussion

Cross My Heart by Avie Luthra (UK, 2002) - A young man leads a double life when he tries to convince his family that he is "Indian" enough to inherit his uncle's video store. A hilarious critique of racism within the Asian British community. Laxmi by Mandrika Rupa (New Zealand, 2000) - A coming-of-age story of an Indian girl growing up in colonial New Zealand during wartime, 1942.  Mann Ke Manjeere by Sujit Sircar (India, 2001) A music video depicting the journey of a woman who becomes a liberated truck driver. Sangam (The Confluence) by Prashant Bhargava (USA, 2003) - Sangam is a place in India where three sacred rivers converge. The film is a meditation on the rivers that bind and divide us. Take the A Train by Amyn Kaderali (2003) - When a prep school boy is the victim of a prank on the subway, he learns that sometimes the end of the line is only just the beginning.

December 5, 2004: Workers’ Rights, Building International Solidarity, and Organizing Efforts Abroad

SAPAC members helped organize a discussion with representatives from several community groups, both Indian and non-Indian.  The purpose of this discussion was to educate each other on the politics and opinions on “outsourcing” of jobs to India. A non-partisan delegation from the New Trade Union Initiative in India were visiting the U.S. They were featured in a roundtable discussion about how outsourcing to India is being scapegoated and misrepresented here in the US. The event included a dialogue about how this issue affects Indian and U.S workers as well as creates misguided racist backlash in the U.S.  Read a column about the event.

December 3, 2004: Global Day of Action for Justice in Bhopal

December 3rd was the Global Day of Action for Justice in Bhopal and SAPAC sponsored a local action in Chicago.  Twenty years ago Bhopal experienced the world’s worst industrial disaster and there is still work to be done to bring the people and land to justice.  There are still criminal charges out against Union Carbide and the site in Bhopal has yet to be cleaned up. Survivors and their allies demand that Carbide’s new owner DOW Chemical meet its legal and moral responsibilities to the people of Bhopal.  There were numerous actions planned around the world for the 3rd and 4th of December and in Chicago, SAPAC members fought for justice in Bhopal by meeting at the UNITE HERE Hall and then delivering a message to Dow Chemical.

November 5, 2004: Screening of Final Solution and Q&A with Director Rakesh Sharma

(Event co-sponsored by Indian Muslim Council-USA, Fateh, UIC International Studies Program, UIC South Asian Progressive Collective, Students for Social Justice, The Public Square. This event was not co-sponsored by SAPAC; however, SAPAC members assisted in organizing the screening, which was attended by over 450 people.)

Set in Gujarat, India, Final Solution examines the aftermath of the deadly violence that followed the burning of 58 Hindus on the Sabarmati Express train at Godhra on February 27, 2002. In “reaction” to that incident, some 2,500 Muslims were brutally murdered, hundreds of women raped, and more than 200,000 families driven from their homes. Borrowing its reference from the history of Nazism, the title of the film exposes what the film director calls “Indian Fascism.”  This is a powerful and skillfully developed account of the fearsome mechanisms generated by the politics of hate. A brilliant documentary, which performs an autopsy of this pogrom in South Asia, this film is also relevant to a broader audience interested in exploring the global geo-politics of violence and state-sponsored terror. Awards: Wolfgang Staudte award and Special Jury Award (Netpac), Berlin International film festival (2004), Best Documentary & Critic's Choice at the Hong Kong International Film Festival (2004).

September 25, 2004: Rally to Support Immigrant Rights, Federal Plaza

SAPAC members participated at a rally to show support for immigrant rights from 12 PM to 2 PM in Chicago’s Federal Plaza.  Along with SAPAC, the Indo American Center brought dozens of people from the Desi community.  Among the speakers addressing the large crowd was a Pakistani immigrant.

September 16 & 18, 2004: Speak Up! Act Up! Forum for a New America

Speak Up! Act Up! Forum’s goal was to create a greater level of political awareness and participation among immigrant youth through a dynamic event combining art and activism.  The performance event, hosted at the Hot House on Thursday Sept. 16, featured performances from singers, spoken word artists, comedians, and other artists from Chicago’s immigrant communities.  Performances were interspersed with very short political presentations. The presentations were on issues such as civil liberties, access to higher education (Dream Act), treatment of immigrants in Chicago Public Schools, hate crimes, voting and political participation, women's rights.  The Sept. 18 organizing sessions allowed participants to become part of specific campaigns going on in the Chicago area to impact some of the issues addressed in the Thursday evening’s performance event. Read more about this amazing event.

September 9, 2004: 3rd I Screening
Patriot Acts, followed by panel discussion

(Third I event sponsored by Chicago Filmmakers, and co-sponsored by SAPAC, ICIRR, and CAAELII)

This Documentary explores the devastating effects of the U.S. government's controversial NSEERS program that requires non-immigrant males, 16 and older, from predominantly Muslim countries to register with the Department of Homeland Security. Set in March 2003, the documentary follows Chicago's Pakistani residents as they prepare for the final deadline date for registration, March 21st. The Special Registration program implemented in December calls attention to the loss of liberty, justice and freedom for all due to the war on terrorism. Who have we sacrificed so far and what is next.  Directed by Sree Nallamothu.

August 12 & 17, 2004: The Way Back Home, a documentary on partition

In 1947 after a protracted struggle, India achieved freedom from British colonial rule at the cost of dividing the nation in two. A million were killed in the wake of violent communal riots between Hindus and Muslims. Millions more became refugees, amongst whom were the director's parents, who had to leave their ancestral home for an unknown future. After more than fifty years Supriyo Sen follows his parents as they visit their lost homeland in what is now known as Bangladesh. This poignant film is about this journey, individual and collective memories and the historical consciousness that arises from personal recollections. Shot clandestinely and censored by the film certification board of India, Way Back Home is a courageous and militant reminder of defining events for the people of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.  Directed by Supriyo Sen.

August 8 & 14-15, 2004: Indian and Pakistani Independence Day Celebrations

SAPAC and Building Bridges of Understanding Coalition organized a peace float at the Indian Independence Day parade and conducted voter registration at the parade and at a SAPAC booth at the weekend Mela in Warren Park. 

July 11, 2004:  Radio Stories—Crossing Communal Divides in India

Chicago Public Radio invited community members to hear radio stories regarding communal tensions in India and the Diaspora and then participate in a community dialogue.  SAPAC member Shashi Menon participated in a panel looking at how South Asians in the Diaspora are engaging around issues of communalism. 

Listen to Voices from Hyderabad, the radio series on communalism by Chicago Public Radio (WBEZ 91.5 FM).

June 8, 2004:  My Mother India Film Screening

Safina Uberoi tells the story of her mother, an Australian who married an Indian PhD student and moved to India, her father, a Sikh turned liberal atheist turned Sikh again, and his parents, a guru and a feisty skeptic. What starts as a quirky lighthearted family story about personal identity and movement between cultures touches on darker issues of group identity, with the family on the edge of the communal violence sparked by the 1984 attack on the Sikh temple at Amritsar and the assassination of Indira Gandhi.

May 1, 2004:  Screening of Final Solution (Chicago premiere) and Conversation with the Director

Set in Gujarat, India, Final Solution examines the aftermath of the deadly violence that followed the burning of 58 Hindus on the Sabarmati Express train at Godhra on February 27, 2002. In “reaction” to that incident, some 2,500 Muslims were brutally murdered, hundreds of women raped, and more than 200,000 families driven from their homes. Borrowing its reference from the history of Nazism, the title of the film exposes what the film director calls “Indian Fascism.”  This is a powerful and skillfully developed account of the fearsome mechanisms generated by the politics of hate. A brilliant documentary, which performs an autopsy of this pogrom in South Asia, this film is also relevant to a broader audience interested in exploring the global geo-politics of violence and state-sponsored terror. Awards: Wolfgang Staudte award and Special Jury Award (Netpac), Berlin International film festival (Feb. 2004); Best Documentary & Critic's Choice at the Hong Kong International Film Festival (2004).

April 23, 2004:  Video Screening and Talk on the Bhopal Gas Tragedy

In December 1984, a toxic cloud of gas from the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India, silently enveloped the surrounding city, leaving thousands dead. For almost 20 years, the survivors of the disaster have sought punishment for those they hold responsible, and they start at the top. They're targeting the American chief executive of the company - the now-retired 82-year-old Warren Anderson. So where does the buck stop when it comes to culpability for the world's worst industrial tragedy? Amos Cohen reports on the hunt for Warren Anderson.  Followed by a talk with Ryan Bodyani, coordinator, Students for Bhopal.

April 21, 2004:  Radio Reflections on the Hindu Muslim Divide

India is a vastly diverse country that has been rocked in recent years by outbreaks of communal violence.  Andrea Wenzel recently spent a month in Hyderabad, India, training Muslim and Hindu community organizers and youth in radio production. Hyderabad is a city with a history of communal conflict. These stories feature various players in the city's communal situation sharing their perspectives in their own words.  Sponsored by the Thousand Waves Martial Arts and Self Defense Center.

April 4, 2004:  Conversation with Dr. Ram Puniyani of India's EKTA Organization

Dr. Ram Puniyani is a dedicated humanist devoted to promoting communal harmony and social justice in India. He has been associated with many secular initiatives and has published widely on themes related to globalization and the rise of fundamentalism. He is the author of “Communal Politics – Facts vs. Myths” “The Other Cheek – Minorities Under Threat” – “The Second Assassination of Gandhi,” among several other books, is a member of EKTA (Committee for Communal Amity), and received the Maharashtra Foundation award for social work in 2002. He is presently a Professor of Bio-medical Engineering at IIT, Mumbai.  Co-sponsored with Building Bridges Forum.

March 6, 2004: Voices of Resistance 3

Voices of Resistance 3 (VOR3) is an exploration and affirmation of South Asian diasporic identity through performance, video, visual, and spoken art.  This year we focused on art that touched on otherness, art that was not only grounded in our own histories of displacement and migration, but also spoke to how we treat the other among us.