Milan Kundera once wrote, “There is nothing heavier than compassion. Not even one’s own pain weighs so heavy as the pain one feels with someone, for someone, a pain intensified by the imagination and prolonged by a hundred echoes.”
Join this gallery conversation to explore artworks that help us understand the urgency and meaning of compassion and how it may be humanity’s greatest strength.
about the facilitator
Sam Ramos is the director of Gallery Activation at the Art Institute of Chicago. He teaches across the galleries on a variety of topics including nature, history, healthcare, justice, race, colonialism, and, of course, art. He is a practicing writer who has published fiction, art criticism, and essays in a number of places, though his first loves are short stories and novels. Most recently, his novel, Ghost Box, was longlisted for the 2023 Dzanc Fiction Prize. He received his BFA in art history and studio art, as well as his MFA in creative writing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
what to expect
This program will convene in Gallery 222, which is accessible by stairs or elevator on the second floor of the museum in the European Painting and Sculpture galleries. The conversation will have a facilitator, who will prompt conversation among the participants. Gallery stools will be provided. ASL interpretation and/or assisted listening devices are available upon request at [email protected]. Assisted listening devices are limited and available on a first come, first served basis. Requests must be made at least two weeks in advance.
