Fostering Collaboration On and Off Campus

The Climate Jobs Institute recognizes the importance of sharing our research with campus and community members through workshops, webinars, public presentations, and art installations. The Illinois Coal Workers & Communities Listening Project team is committed to producing research with impact, reaching across the Illinois coalfields and beyond.  

The Climate Jobs Institute collaborated with Dr. Magdalena Novoa, Listening Project partner and Assistant Professor in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, and the Krannert Art Museum to bring coal-impacted communities from Chile, Ohio, and Illinois into dialogue. Memorias de la Mujer Lotina: Arpilleras, Women, and Coal in Chile consists of an exhibition at the Krannert Art Museum featuring arpillera, a Chilean textile craft, made by women in Chile’s southern coal basin region. The exhibition is on view at the Krannert Art Museum from February 26 to September 5, 2026.

The Chilean artists participated in a weeklong residency at the University of Illinois from March 30 through April 5, 2026. During their visit, they lead campus and community workshops, engaged with Illinois coal workers and families, and participated in events to foster cross-border dialogue.

Read about our collaboration with Dr. Magdalena Novoa on the Memorias residency and exhibit.

Marcia Raubach, West Frankfort Old King Coal Festival president, shares her story and documents with Kennedie Meyers, Harlem Documentary Project high school senior. 2025. Photo by Emily Guske.

Textiles artists from Illinois, USA and Lota, Chile showcase their arpilleras created at a collaborative workshop at the Vermilion County Museum in Danville, Illinois. 2026. Photo by Emily Guske.

University of Illinois Urban & Regional Planning students work with Vermilion County community members to identify important sites related to coal’s legacy. 2025. Photo by Nick Talan.

Women from Illinois, USA and Lota, Chile create arpilleras, textiles with colorful stitching, applique, and embroidery, at the Vermilion County Museum in Danville, Illinois. The arpilleras capture the stories and memories of women in their communities. 2026. Photo by Emily Guske.

Denzile Stubblefield, lifelong West Frankfort coal miner, tells his story to CJI’s Johnathan Hettinger before recording an oral history. 2025. Photo by Emily Guske.

Panelists from Illinois, USA; Ohio, USA; and Lota, Chile, present “Life After Coal: Envisioning Just Transitions Across Borders” at the Krannert Art Museum in Champaign, Illinois. The panel asked, “What does a just transition look like for international coalfield communities that hold complex relationships with the industry and continue to live with its environmental, economic, and social legacies?” 2026. Photo by Nick Talan.

Attendees view an arpillera featured in the Memorias de la Mujer Lotina: Arpilleras, Women, and Coal in Chile Exhibition at the Krannert Art Museum in Champaign, Illinois. 2026. Photo by Nick Talan.

Dr. Emily Twarog (Labor Education Program), Laura Abbot, (Plumbers Local 49 Champaign), Susan Menesses Lantaño (Mesa Ciudadana de Patrimonio, Cultura y Turismo de Lota), Eliana San Cristóbal Osses (Mesa Ciudadana de Patrimonio, Cultura y Turismo de Lota), Dr. Stephanie Fortado (Labor Education Program), and Krissy Webber (Roofers, Waterproofers and Allied Workers Local 97 Champaign) pose for a photo after the “Talking Across Borders: Women Labor Activists from Illinois and Chile in Conversation” panel at the School of Art & Design in Champaign, Illinois. 2026. Photo by Nick Talan.