From January 22 until June 9, 2019, Triple Canopy and Public Fiction presented an exhibition, “Parts of Speech,” at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. The exhibition addressed the role of public speech in the so-called post-truth era, in response to the accelerating diffusion and displacement of authority. “Parts of Speech” included speeches at sites of assembly throughout Chicago by Steffani Jemison, Hari Kunzru, Tomeka Reid, Astra Taylor, Christopher Kulendran Thomas, and Julio Torres, as well as an installation of artworks by Rami George, Liz Magic Laser, David Levine, Nicole Miller, Rodney McMillian, and the Videofreex.

Navigate to Triple Canopy to learn more about “Parts of Speech” and read (and watch) the publications that have emerged from the exhibition. Here’s the official description:

With faith in public and private institutions at an all-time low, what kinds of speakers are likely to win trust, acquire authority, and mobilize audiences? How do we recognize ourselves in the routines of comedians, reports of journalists, appeals of activists, manifestos of tech entrepreneurs, and formulas of TED Talks? “Parts of Speech,” an exhibition on public speech organized by Triple Canopy and Public Fiction with the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, addresses these questions with a series of experimental lectures and artworks chosen in response. Freely interpreting the form of the lecture, artists, filmmakers, comedians, novelists, and musicians consider the use of language and media to mold opinion, forge intimacy, marshal authority, and orchestrate movements. “Parts of Speech” culminates in the publication of edited transcripts and videos, composed from documentation, that reflect on the migration of public speech from radio to television to the internet and beyond.