In June 2021, SAIC faculty, curators, and seven specially chosen graduate fellows began to hold regular weekly meetings to discuss how the arts could be leveraged in the fight for a future free of nuclear arms. In formulating our collective reaction to this issue, a crucial first step was to establish the values and aims that would serve to both unify the narrative and, hopefully, galvanize public support around this crucial issue. The name Start a Reaction was chosen both for its association with the historical setting of the Chicago Pile-1 site, as well as our desire to challenge the dominant ideology that nuclear arms were a necessary facet of international diplomacy.
