Lessons in (Community Care)

This class led by Eric von Haynes + Eric Hotchkiss looks at Love Fridge Chicago to explore how neighbors build systems of care together.
About this Event

Led by Eric Von Haynes + Eric Hotchkiss, Lessons in Community Care uses the story of Love Fridge Chicago as a lens for exploring how neighbors build systems of care together. Since 2020, Love Fridge has grown into a citywide mutual aid network of community refrigerators sustained by volunteers, artists, organizers, and residents who believe everyone deserves access to food with dignity. This class examines how mutual aid is organized, maintained, and sustained through relationships rather than institutions.

Using Love Fridge Chicago as our primary case study, we'll explore what it takes to build and care for a grassroots initiative over time. Together, we'll examine how artists and designers contribute to community infrastructure through storytelling, printed matter, communication, and collaborative action. Whether you're interested in mutual aid, social practice, design, or community organizing, this class offers practical insights into how creativity can become a tool for collective care, neighborhood resilience, and lasting social connection.

*Please note that this event is taking place at: Chicago Art Department (1926 S Halsted St, Chicago, IL 60608).

This class has been organized by Laurel Hauge as part of Lessons in (Hospitality) which offers a series of classes during the run of this year’s Ground Floor exhibition (August 9–November 1, 2026). While each class in this series has been conceived by a different thinker, maker, and/or professional, they are all centered around the subject: hospitality. The project offers the conditions for a multitude of definitions and interpretations of “hospitality” to be shared, enacted, and embodied.