Iván Arenas

Iván Arenas is a Researcher and Senior Associate Director at the Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy within the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). He focuses on how social movements utilize creative art practices to foster solidarity beyond state structures. His work intersects protest practices, social transformation, and aesthetics, with practical experience as an artist and curator of three UIC exhibits.

Education: B.A. from Columbia College of Columbia University; Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley.

Community Engagement: Active in Chicago Torture Justice Memorials, Chicago United for Equity, Pilsen Housing Cooperative, and Chicago ACT Collective.

Professional Activities: Curates exhibits mobilizing research on protest aesthetics; advises on engaged research addressing racial/ethnic inequality and policy solutions.