Surviving the Long Wars: Creative Rebellion at the Ends of Empire
Edited by Aaron Hughes, Ronak K. Kapadia, Therese Quinn, Meranda Roberts, and Amber Zora
Surviving the Long Wars offers a groundbreaking exploration into the complex histories of US warfare and militarism, illuminating the pivotal role of art in cultivating justice, healing, and abolition. Inspired by Indigenous responses to the “American Indian Wars” and artists from the Greater Middle East and South Asia challenging the “Global War on Terror,” this volume examines the intersections between these legacies of creative rebellion and the experiences of contemporary Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) veterans. Informed by the emerging Veteran Art Movement and its ties to global struggles for demilitarization and abolition, the book advocates for solidarity and imaginative resistance against war and empire.
Featuring poetry, speeches, and artworks from the 2023 Veteran Art Triennial & Summit held in Chicago, the collection exemplifies the Triennial’s profound impact and critical legacy. With interdisciplinary insights spanning Native and Indigenous Studies, Middle Eastern Studies, Critical Ethnic Studies, and Museum and Exhibition Studies, Surviving the Long Wars celebrates Chicago’s legacy of resistance, while confronting erasures of Indigenous history. Renowned contributors such as Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, Laleh Khalili, Kyle T. Mays, and Junaid Rana offer fresh perspectives on the enduring impacts of US militarism and the potential for unexpected coalitions to emerge. At its core, Surviving the Long Wars is a clarion call for artists, organizers, and scholars to unite against US imperialism, envisioning a future of peace and justice through art and collective action.
CONTRIBUTORS & FEATURED ARTISTS
Maitham Alharbi, Bassim Al Shaker, Hipólito Arriaga III, Andrea Assaf, Kevin Basl, Dorothy Burge, Miridith Campbell, June Carpenter, Bruce Carter, Brittney Chantele, Mahwish Chishty, Elexa Dawson, Jose deVera, Melissa Doud, Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, Sabba Elahi, Rodney Ewing, Ali Eyal, Darrell Wayne Fair, Sarah Farahat, Frontline Arts, Chitra Ganesh, Mariam Ghani, Frederick Gokliz, GOODW.Y.N., Hock E Aye Vi Edgar Heap of Birds, Gina Herrera, Aaron Hughes, Tom Jones, Rajkamal Kahlon, Ronak K. Kapadia, Ruth Kaneko, Shaymaa Khalil, Laleh Khalili, Gilbert Kills Pretty Enemy III, Erika Renee Land, Terran Last Gun, Joseph Lefthand, Nathan Lewis, Monty Little, Hanaa Malallah, Kyle T. Mays, Hector René Membreño-Canales, Dunya Mikhail, James Pakootas, Chris Pappan, Eric Perez, Yvette Pino, Therese Quinn, Isra Rahman, Michael Rakowitz, Junaid Rana, Gregory Rick, Meranda Roberts, Joseph Running Crane, Sada, Rijin Sahakian, Gerald Euhon Sheffield II, Carlos Sirah, Hussein Smko, Starla Thompson, Anthony Torres, Dwayne Wilcox, Yiran Zhang, and Amber Zora
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
Introduction: Surviving the Long Wars
Surviving the Long Wars Editorial Collective
SECTION ONE: RESIDUES AND REBELLIONS
Poetry: The Devil will Always Find Work / “Watch Us Survive”
Erika Renee Land
Residues and Rebellions Exhibition at the Newberry Library
Why is the United States the Most Militaristic State in History?
Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
Unlikely Rebellions, Reckonings, and Refusals: Exhibition Review
Meranda Roberts
SECTION TWO: RECKON AND REIMAGINE
Poetry: Between Two Wars
Dunya Mikhail
Reckon and Reimagine Exhibition at the Chicago Cultural Center
Embedded Horizons
Rijin Sahakian
Disrupting Business as Usual: Transforming Bureaucracy into Art
Amber Zora
SECTION THREE: UNLIKELY ENTANGLEMENTS
Poetry: It’s Not All Dead
GOODW.Y.N.
Unlikely Entanglements Exhibition at the Hyde Park Art Center
Tomahawks, Chinooks, and Geronimo: Settler Colonial Fantasies of US Navy Seals
Laleh Khalili
Life During War on Terror Time
Junaid Rana
SECTION FOUR: SURVIVING THE LONG WARS SUMMIT
Poetry: War
Shaymaa Khalil
Poetry: Escapees from the bombing
Maitham Alharbi
Surviving the Long Wars Summit
A Sweeter Future
Michael Rakowitz
“When Black People Are Free, All People Will Be Free”: Black Freedom, Indigenous Sovereignty, and the Limits of Reparations Discourse
Kyle T. Mays
Vulnerable Enough to Share, Selfless Enough to Listen
Kevin Basl in Conversation with Anthony Torres
The Summit, Then and Now
Isra Rahman
CONCLUSION
Poetry: Morning Maw
Carlos Sirah
Sowing Seeds of Resistance
Aaron Hughes
AFTERWORD
Meditations on Survival and Rebellion
Ronak K. Kapadia