We are delighted to welcome our 2020 summer intern!
Madeleine Aquilina, a first year graduate student in art history at the University of Michigan, will be building on prior research to develop an exhibition brief on the history of housing activism. She is being supported by a grant from her department. Madeleine is also working with a university gallery to create public programs. From her conversations with housing advocates, Madeleine plans to contribute an audio piece for the Out of the Archives! series.
As an undergraduate at Oberlin College, Madeleine researched Villa Victoria, a community-designed public housing project in Boston’s South End where, in 1968, the city sought to displace Puerto Rican residents in order to redevelop the neighborhood. A native of Boston, Madeleine is no stranger to the Windy City. Before going to graduate school, she spent two years here working as an advocate for the Illinois Tenants Union, and working with Legal Aid to support folks who were facing eviction in Cook County.
Madeleine is thrilled to be able to spend time in Chicago again and says that she missed the lake, Logan Square, the always lively local politics, and the techno/house music scene.
“I am excited to work at an institution leading the way in imagining what an activist museum could be. It is incredibly gratifying to dive into research that I expect will be public facing.”