L’union fait la force (Unity makes Strength)
June 18 - July 13, 2025
Café Logan
Dancer seeing reflection in mirror
The Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts is proud to present L’union fait la force (Unity Makes Strength), a photo exhibition featuring the work of writer, imagist and artist Seed Lynn. This installation documents a powerful journey titled Return to the River, a fall 2023 road trip from Chicago to the Katherine Dunham Centers in East St. Louis. Participants included dancers, drummers, community members, educators, and former Dunham students, each connected by their commitment to preserving and activating Dunham’s legacy.
Named after the Haitian motto “L’union fait la force,” the exhibition pays tribute to the dynamic legacy of American dance pioneer Katherine Dunham. Through evocative images and intimate visual storytelling, the installation uplifts the intergenerational relationships, cultural knowledge, curiosity and collective joy that have emerged from this eight-year collaboration between the Logan Center for the Arts and the Katherine Dunham Centers for Arts and Humanities.
More than a reflection of a single journey, L’union fait la force sits on the shoulders of decades of devotion by legacy keepers who have worked tirelessly to ensure that Miss Dunham’s work continues to live on, not only as a beloved alumna of the University of Chicago, but as a visionary woman whose influence remains deeply felt through the world.
L’union fait la force is made possible by University of Chicago Provost Office of Diversity and Inclusion Juneteenth grant and the Katherine Dunham Centers for Arts and Humanities and the Logan Center for the Arts with special acknowledgements of the partnerships legacy keepers, Ruby Streate, Arthur Moore, Toni Williams, Sadira Muhammad, Gerri Williams, Montrae Mumphrey, James Jackson, Jared Jackson, Laurie Goux, Valroy Dawkins and countless others.