Friday, March 13, 2020 was Day One for ConTextos moving into cyberspace. Normally housed at offices in Chicago Literary Alliance in downtown Chicago, the team “gathered” via zoom to figure out what social distancing, what a global pandemic would mean for each of us individually and what they would mean for the work and the people and communities we serve. All we collectively knew on that first day was that we had to create a consistent, open space where folks could gather to commune, write, and process the “new” world we were all navigating. Open Circle was born.

Some 200 days on, Open Circle remains. A community has been built. Folks who didn’t identify themselves as writers before joining the Circle now proudly claim that designation. We have written and shared, and then written and shared some more. What started from an organizationally imposed charge to create an unwavering space for ourselves and others to be in union through words, through language, has been successful beyond measure. But that was then, and now the world we walk is different still and so we must adapt to those changes or risk our own obsolescence.

With this in mind, ConTextos is excited to announce Open Circle reimagined. As our country moves into a pivotal phase of our history, we hope to mutually construct a space to read, write, discuss and process the theme of Transition of Power. There are so many ways to think about transition, to think about power, to think about our relationships to both. There have been so many transitions historically as well. The reimagined Open Circle will be centered around this theme for a 4 month period: October through February.

Open Circle currently meets Sundays, Mondays, and Wednesdays at 3pm Central Time. This is a drop in circle with no commitments – we invite you to join whenever you like!

Sign up below to join us!