Fall 2024 at The Commonwealth has been a period of recalibration and renewal of our routines, rituals, and reflections in preparation for the close of 2024 and the year ahead. Weekly Farmer’s Markets have continued in full swing with vibrant produce, featuring music by Human-in-Residence, Charles Pryor, and new Civic Arts activities such making smudge sticks and designing Prop Blocks. The SWF team has also been working hard to ready the land, spaces, and structures at The Commonwealth for the impending winter ahead by reconstructing and repairing hoop house infrastructure and organizing indoor spaces to accommodate work and programming over winter. 

The fall season of Sweet Water Communiversity programming was jam-packed as we welcomed a new cohort of RND Research Interns, launching Community Building Wednesdays, are co-leading a college course on Artificial Intelligence and urban design, and delivering hands-on arts, cultural, and Urban Ecology programming to more than 100 students from across the Chicagoland area and the world. 

On Thursday, September 26, an intergenerational group from the Oneida Nation joined Sweet Water Foundation (SWF) for a Convergence at The Commonwealth that included shared labor on the Community Farm, a farm-to-table meal, a tour of The Commonwealth, and a Civic Arts Talk and Workshop in Civic Arts Church. The Convergence underscored the importance of storytelling, sharing knowledge, and the profound possibilities inherent in values-based practices focused on the regeneration of land and ecosystems. 

Summer 2024 was jam-packed with weekly rituals, special events, visitors from across the globe, and a lot of hard work amidst a hot Chicago summer. Sweet Water Communiversity was in full swing, welcoming neighbors, youth, a new cohort of Urban Ecology Global Fellows, and Values-Based Partners to The Commonwealth and engaging the community in the weekly rituals of Wellness Wednesdays, Friday Market, and Civic Arts programming. 

On August 7, 2024, Sweet Water Foundation hosted renowned scholars and historians Imani Perry and Robin D. G. Kelley at The Commonwealth for the second Civic Arts Talk. The August session focused on reclaiming image and identity through the lens of freedom dreaming. How can we dare to freedom dream?

On July 11, Sweet Water Foundation (SWF) hosted Rick Lowe for the inaugural Civic Arts Talk at Civic Arts Church, marking the launch of a new Sweet Water Communiversity series focused on Civic Arts. This series brings together artists, academics, and community members to share their work through talks, performances, and workshops, fostering a rich exchange of ideas and critical connections at The Commonwealth. 

On Wednesday, June 19, Sweet Water Foundation celebrated its Seventh Annual Juneteenth Celebration at The Commonwealth. For the second time, Juneteenth was hosted at Civic Arts Church, welcoming 200+ neighbors, Values-Based Partners, and friends from around the globe who joined us to celebrate freedom and community. We invite you to read more about the celebration.

On March 7th - 9th, SWF team members traveled to Ann Arbor and Detroit, Michigan, for a Communiversity Convergence. The Convergence began with SWF and members of the Values-Based Partners network engaging in a public lecture at the University of Michigan followed by a Build-It Workshop and community gathering at Freedom Dreams the next day. This was the second annual Communiversity Convergence in Detroit - a new March ritual and an important community/network-building and reconnection point. We invite you to learn more about the Detroit Convergence.

This spring has brought varied temperature swings, which has meant plenty of time to balance indoor and outdoor activities. In March, Sweet Water Communiversity welcomed its first groups of the year from near and far to The Commonwealth for immersions, ranging from a few hours to a few days with the SWF team. Students from Howard University, Lake Forest College, and Chicago Public Schools spent part of their spring break cultivating life alongside the SWF team and Community. We invite you to read more about the immersions at The Commonwealth.

On April 5 and 6, members of the SWF team traveled to Pittsburgh, PA, for a Communiversity Convergence with Values-Based Partner Sankofa Village Projects and emerging university partner Carnegie Mellon University. The two-day convergence catalyzed new relationships at Sankofa Village Community Garden through a series of Build-It Workshops that engaged community members and students/faculty from Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh.

This February, Sweet Water Foundation hosted its fourth annual Sankofa Living Memories Series. The Sankofa Living Memories Series embraces the practice of Sankofa, reaching back to the knowledge and wisdom of the past and bringing it into the present in order to build a more radical and imaginative future. Similar to previous years, the series featured three sessions that focused on [Re]Membering, [Re]Generation, and [Re]Mediation. Read more about this year’s three-part Sankofa series.

In November, Sweet Water Foundation launched the Fall 2023 Civic Arts Workshop Series in SWF’s Civic Arts Church, featuring four local artists: Ricardia Davis, Rhonda Long, Dr. Derise “Mama Afua” Tolliver, and Darlene Grant. Each event began with an artist talk highlighting their personal journeys and the histories of their artistic practices and mediums, followed by a workshop in which artists shared their practices with the SWF team and community.

From October 1 - October 3, the SWF team traveled to Huntington, West Virginia, for a two-day learning journey with our Values-Based Partner, Coalfield Development. The team visited 4 of Coalfield’s locations, connected with staff members, and led carpentry and civic arts workshops with the Coalfield Team. The trip was an important connection point for both organizations and resonated with both teams.

In the summer of 2023, Sweet Water engaged in a month-long effort to re-create the Healing Garden, a ~15,000 square foot site on the Sweet Water Community Farm. The re-creation of the Healing Garden was integrated into the Summer 2023 Urban Ecology Global Fellowship program, serving as the focus of their capstone project. The re-created Healing Garden was opened to the Sweet Water Community for an End-of-Summer Celebration during the final Wellness Wednesday of the Summer Fellowship.

Summer 2023 was jam-packed with weekly rituals, special events, visitors from across the globe, and a lot of labor, love, and community. Over the months of June, July, and August, Sweet Water Communiversity was in full swing, welcoming a new cohort of Urban Ecology Global Fellows and delivering hands-on arts, culture, and Urban Ecology programming to 100+ students from across the Chicagoland area and the world. SWF also hosted its Sixth Annual Juneteenth Celebration and engaged the community in the weekly rituals of Wellness Wednesdays, Friday Market, and Civic Arts Fridays. 

On Thursday, August 17, the 2023 Urban Ecology Global Fellows delivered their capstone presentation to a global audience of more than 50 Values-Based Partners, community members, academics, and family members. The fellows’ presentation offered an in-depth overview of their hands-on experience over the 10-week fellowship and an analysis and critique of city planning and policy documents, including an examination of Chicago’s new mayor Brandon Johnson’s transition report.

On Saturday, June 17, Sweet Water Foundation celebrated its Sixth Annual Juneteenth Celebration at The Commonwealth. For the first time, Juneteenth was hosted at Civic Arts Church, which SWF opened in June 2022 after a years-long transformation from an abandoned church to a community design center. This year’s celebration welcomed 200+ neighbors, community partners, and friends from around the globe, who joined us to celebrate freedom and community.

On Tuesday, May 2, Sweet Water Foundation hosted the Spring 2023 RND [Re]Search Internship Program capstone presentation. Interns delivered an impressive presentation that covered the broad range of topics that they had been [re]searching throughout the semester. The Spring 2023 interns were SWF’s fourth cohort of RND [Re]Search interns in the second academic year of the program.

On Tuesday, March 28, 2023, the Sweet Water Foundation team traveled to Detroit, Michigan, to help hand-raise a Meeting House with the Freedom Dreams community and members of the Values-Based Partners network. The raising of Meeting House in Detroit was a historic event, bringing the first newly built structure to the Poletown East neighborhood in more than 30 years. The event not only activated the physical site but also energized, inspired, and cultivated a sense of community for all in attendance.

From February 21 to March 24, Sweet Water Foundation welcomed Leila Tamari to The Commonwealth as a Human-in-Residence. During her residency, Leila was fully immersed in hands-on, daily work with the SWF team - from agriculture and carpentry to civic arts. Her residency culminated on March 24 with an artist talk at Civic Arts Church to the SWF community in Civic Arts Church, through which she shared the impact of the residency on her perception of value.

Spring 2023 was in full swing at The Commonwealth. From preparation of the Community Farm for the upcoming growing season to production flows in the Work-Shop, to weekly civic arts activities in Civic Arts Church; the SWF team has been working hard. We welcomed groups for onsite immersions, launched Wellness Wednesdays for the 2023 season, and hosted a photoshoot in Meeting House.