Description:

In the summer of 1967, more than 100,000 young people streamed into San Francisco to celebrate peace, love, and music. Many of the artists, poets, and musicians associated with the “Summer of Love” embraced the art and ideas of British visionary poet and artist William Blake (1757-1827). Blake’s protests against the conventions of his day were inspirational for many young Americans disillusioned by social uniformity, materialism, racial and gender discrimination, and environmental degradation. From the 1940s through the 1960s, some 200 years after his birth, Blake became a model of non-conformity, self-expression, and social and political resistance.

Celebrate the imaginative spirit that unites Blake and the Age of Aquarius. Make an original print with Chicago-based print collective Spudnik Press, follow your muse with typewritten Poems While You Wait, groove to WNUR DJs and be part of Old Town School of Folk Music "Counter Culture Jam Sessions with Jimmy T & Mary Peterson." Bring a guitar, bring your voice - join in the jam!

This event will be followed by 2pm Opening Day Conversation: "Blake, Now and Then" with Stephen Eisenman and W.J.T. Mitchell