MacArthur awarded arts organizations more than $3.8 million for work making Chicago’s cultural assets available to all.
Sixteen organizations that make Chicago’s cultural assets available to all will receive $3.84 million in general operating support. Each organization will receive $240,000 over three years to expand organizations’ and leaders’ abilities to influence equitable and inclusive outcomes, rooted in arts and arts-centered programming.
A panel of participatory grantmakers reviewed and recommended the organizations for support as part of our Culture, Equity, and the Arts program.
“The arts can enrich lives, bring people together, enable healing, and create opportunity. We are proud to support organizations that show how essential arts and culture are to Chicago communities,” said Tara Magner, Director, of Chicago Commitment.
Organizations receiving support are:
- Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education (CAPE) fosters collaboration between teaching artists and classroom teachers to offer in-school and afterschool arts education to Chicago Public Schools (CPS) students, including special needs learners.
- Chicago Children’s Museum is a national leader in developing play-based experiences that engage children, families, and classroom teachers in creative, collaborative learning.
- Goodman Theatre (Chicago Theatre Group) produces nine shows that include both classic and contemporary works, giving voice to a wide range of artists and perspectives and engages Chicagoans each year through a variety of educational programs.
- Comer Education Campus’s Gary Comer Youth Center is an 80,000-square-foot education, recreation, and arts facility dedicated to improving young people’s lives, serving more than 2,000 youth annually through programs in visual, performing, and culinary arts.
- Firebird Community Arts empowers and connects Chicagoans through the healing practice of glassblowing and ceramic arts, serving individuals impacted by gun violence, formerly incarcerated individuals, and veterans, along with CPS students on Chicago's South and West Sides.
- Griffin Museum of Science and Industry inspires future scientists and increases science literacy through interactive exhibits and educational programs that promote careers in science, technology, medicine, engineering, and the arts.
- Hyde Park Art Center is an exhibition, education, and community-centered organization whose mission is to sustain the visual arts in the city by supporting new and established artists.
- Joffrey Ballet’s mainstage dance company performs classical and contemporary dance in Chicago, nationally, and worldwide, and offers an Academy of Dance for aspiring dancers of all ages and Community Engagement programs for CPS students.
- Kartemquin Films serves as an artistic home where filmmakers receive guidance on their documentary projects and find a supportive community of artists encompassing a wide range of demographic backgrounds and experience levels.
- Morton Arboretum is a botanical garden that advances the planting and conservation of trees locally and globally to benefit people, communities, and the environment through artistic expressions and cultural heritage.
- Museum of Contemporary Art presents exhibitions and public programs where the public can experience the work and ideas of living artists and understand the historical, social, and cultural context of the art of our time.
- National Museum of Mexican Art stimulates knowledge and appreciation of Mexican art and culture from both sides of the border through a significant permanent collection of Mexican art, visual, and performing arts programs; arts education programs and resources; and professional development of Mexican artists and arts administrators.
- The Newberry Library is a learning center and research library dedicated to the advancement and dissemination of knowledge related to history and the humanities.
- Old Town School of Folk Music is a community arts school that provides a variety of music, dance, theater, and visual arts courses to people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds and presents live performances by local, national, and international artists.
- Steppenwolf Theatre is an internationally renowned company that develops new theatrical works, offers programming to Chicago teenagers, and provides space to independent artists and companies to foster creativity and collaboration.
- West Point Fellowship, Inc. provides music education to youth on Chicago’s South Side, with a focus on Afro-Caribbean music, particularly steel drums.
