65GRAND is pleased to present The Division Street Riots, a new exhibition by Chicago-based artist Carlos Rolón. The exhibition features new graphite and charcoal drawings, works on aluminum, a DIY bicycle sculpture with audio, and a hand-embroidered textile inspired by the 1966 Division Street uprising in Humboldt Park and West Town.
On June 12, 1966, one day after Chicago’s first Puerto Rican Day Parade, police shot 20-year-old Arcelis Cruz near Damen and Division. The incident ignited three days of protest, marking the first major U.S. riot attributed to Puerto Ricans. The unrest exposed systemic police brutality, displacement through urban renewal, substandard housing, and educational inequities. It became a turning point in Puerto Rican civic life in Chicago, catalyzing grassroots political organizing and the transformation with the likes of the Young Lords into a civil rights movement.
Nearly sixty years later, Rolón revisits this history through a restrained, material language that foregrounds memory, dignity, and collective witness. Drawing from archival photographs and community narratives, the works consider how histories of migration, protest, and belonging continue to shape American cities. At a time of renewed national debate around immigration, civil rights, and ICE enforcement, the exhibition reflects on how communities mobilize in the face of injustice and how solidarity becomes a form of cultural survival.
The creation of this body of work was generously supported by a grant from the City of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE). The artist also acknowledges the Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center for providing studio space during the development of the project. Founded in 1971 in the wake of the uprising, the Center remains a vital institution for Puerto Rican arts and culture in Chicago, continuing a legacy of education, preservation, and empowerment. Presenting this exhibition at 65GRAND, which is part of the cultural fabric of Humboldt Park and where the artist lives, brings the work into direct dialogue with the community from which its history emerges.
Rolón (b. 1970) is known for a multidisciplinary practice spanning painting, sculpture, installation, and social engagement. His work has been the subject of solo exhibitions at major institutions including the New Orleans Museum of Art, Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, Museo de Arte de Ponce, Dallas Contemporary, and the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, among others. In 2007, he represented Ukraine at the 52nd Venice Biennale and is a recipient of the Joan Mitchell Foundation Award for Painting and Sculpture. His work is held in numerous public collections internationally.
The Division Street Riots invites audiences to reconsider a pivotal chapter in Chicago history and its urgent resonance today, asking how narratives of struggle, migration, and cultural pride continue to shape the evolving story of the Americas.
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