Building Through Art and Action
A LOOK BACK AT 2025 AT ARTS + PUBLIC LIFE
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Dear APL Community,
As we reflect on 2025—our year of Building Through Art and Action—we’re reminded of how creativity, collaboration, and care continue to shape our community as well as the many beautiful forms that action can take. From the choreographic gesture and the hand-held movement of the home movie camera to the joyous occupation of public space, our programs, performances, and gatherings reflected the vibrant energy that defines Arts + Public Life and the artists and audiences we serve.
More than 6,600 visitors joined us in celebrating, stewarding, and building community through the arts. We were proud to support visual artist Brandon Carlton in his first solo exhibition, the undercommons. Our Arts Education program reached 371 high school students across Chicago and expanded with the launch of the Choreographic Arts Program. We also welcomed UChicago students into a new Spring Quarter course, Arts + Public Life: Relationships, Engagement & Cultural Stewardship on Chicago’s South Side, and celebrated the second cohort of the Chicago Critics Table.
Our 2025 Year in Review has a refreshed narrative structure that highlights the many ways our work continues to take root and evolve across the South Side. The four guiding themes—Sustaining History and Community in Washington Park, Arts & Culture in Practice, Making Connections, and Nurturing the Next Generation - illuminate how our programs and partnerships build on one another to strengthen our collective capacity for imagination, cultural stewardship, and transformative action.
Thank you for being part of the Arts + Public Life community. Every artist, student, audience member, and neighbor helped shape the rhythm of this season. We look forward to continuing to explore the ever-evolving relationship between art and action in all that we will build, create, and grow together, next year and beyond.
With gratitude and excitement for what’s ahead,
Adrienne Brown
Director of Arts + Public Life
Professor in the Departments of English and Race, Diaspora, and Indigeneity
Summer on the Arts Lawn returned for its second season, transforming our green space into a hub for joy, movement, and creative exchange. From Big Band Summer and Sunset Yoga to the ever-lively Vends + Vibes Arts Marketplace, we witnessed the South Side show up for one another in the most beautiful ways. We also marked 20 years of the South Side Home Movie Project with the exhibition, The Act of Recording is an Act of Love—a moving tribute to how South Siders have showcased their own intimate histories through film.
As the year came to a close, we began a new chapter in public art with Chicago-based artist Yvette Mayorga, who will bring a large-scale installation to the Arts Lawn—adding her vision to the ever-evolving landscape of Chicago’s South Side.
Sustaining History and Community in Washington Park
“Together, we’ve created a living testament to the resilience, creativity, and everyday beauty of the South Side. We invite you to explore these stories and join us as we embark on our next two decades of discovery.”
In February, we welcomed the South Side Fireflies as Keyholders. This free early childhood music series led by Music Moves Chicago explored sound and rhythm, and filled Saturday mornings on the Arts Block with families, laughter, and music.
South Side Home Movie Project
Last summer marked 20 years of the South Side Home Movie Project and ignited a year-long celebration of community archiving and storytelling. The Logan Center for the Arts was home to a retrospective exhibition highlighting the project’s history. Each day, the exhibition presented curated clips from a different family collection, creating space for people to tap into personal memories and community history. The exhibition concluded with a joyful reception that brought together longtime collaborators, community members, the Thornwood Marching Band, and former APL Artist-in-Residence and 2023 Poet Laureate of Chicago, avery r. young.
The celebration continues through summer 2026 - for details and upcoming programs, read more here.
The SSHMP collection grew in 2025 by receiving 77 new films contributed by seven families, digitizing 87 films, and cataloging over 100 films with detailed, scene-by-scene annotations.
Cultural Stewardship:
Washington Park in Our Time
Last Spring, the APL Cultural Stewardship team launched Washington Park in Our Time, a collective research and memory project exploring the neighborhood’s people and culture from the 1980s to the 2000s. The program brought together community memory keepers to share stories, reflect on key moments, and deepen collective understanding of Washington Park’s lasting creative legacy.
Over three gatherings, featured guests led the cohort, fostering dialogue and shared reflection. In March, Salim Muwakkil, Emma Young, and Dr. Charles Branham guided discussions on South Side politics and the enduring ethos of the Harold Washington era. In April, Amanda Williams and Ghian Foreman joined us for a conversation about property and place, inviting us to think about what stays, what changes, and how those shifts shape the feeling of a community. In May, Duane Powell shared insights on the culture of care at the core of House Music. The cohort was reminded that House Music emerged not only as a sound but also as a social fabric woven from hospitality, style, and a pursuit of belonging and care.
Read on here to learn more and read session summaries.
“The bond was always around food, music … fashion. That’s a big part of House music culture. Going out was not going to clubs, [it] was someone’s home, and they had a gathering and they would dress to the nines even though they’d [just] go to somebody’s house…”
Community Keyholders
Our longtime Keyholders, the Washington Park Camera Club and the Committed Knitters, continued to meet regularly, and we welcomed three new keyholder programs to the roster.
In the fall, Scholars for Social Justice joined the Keyholders program. This group of progressive academics is dedicated to mobilizing the knowledge, skills, and resources of scholars to battle repressive attacks on marginalized communities—continuing APL’s commitment to fostering creative, intellectual, and community-oriented work on the South Side.
The Committed Knitters hosted their second Juneteenth Celebration, bringing together over 70 knitters, learners, and friends for a joyful day of handcrafts, instruction, and creative camaraderie—welcoming participants of all ages and skill levels.
We ended the year by initiating the newest Keyholder Program, the Community Writers Room, led by Cortlyn Kelly and Jasmine Barnes. This gathering was launched to expand the work of the Chicago Critics Table outside of the cohort to create a co-writing and networking space for Chicago critics.
Exhibitions
Photo by Marzena Abrahamik
Residencies
Building on the foundation of the L1 Creative Business Accelerator Fellowship, APL launched the Entrepreneur-in-Residence program in 2025 with Reformed School’s Peter Gaona. This initiative has allowed Peter to showcase Reformed School, along with a curated selection of South Side brands, through activations that reinforce the L1 Retail Store as a key hub for entrepreneurship and collaboration on the South Side.
We revisited the work of Roy Kinsey, a former APL Performance Resident whose time with us culminated in an intimate album event at the Green Line Performing Arts Center. Roy’s practice—rooted in Black, queer self-definition and literary rap—brought audiences into a space of storytelling, memory, and collective reflection.
His culminating performance at the Green Line, presented alongside The Legacy Project, demonstrated Roy’s strength as both a cultural narrator and community voice—bridging music and lived experience with honesty and precision.
As we reflect on the arc of the residency, Roy’s work continues to offer a clear reminder of what live performance can hold: rigor, vulnerability, and a shared space for listening that extends well beyond the stage.
Arts & Culture
in Practice
Chicago Critics Table
In March, we welcomed our second cohort, facilitated by Tempestt Hazel, co-founder of Sixty Inches from Center. During the spring, critics met weekly in an intensive series featuring guest speakers and curated readings. After a summer break, they reconvened for peer-led salons highlighting individual areas of interest. The year concluded with a two-day public program, Art on My Mind, which reimagined the studio visit for writers, giving audiences an inside look at works and ideas in progress.
In 2025 APL presented two important exhibitions that highlighted storytelling, experimentation, and collaboration. Brandon Carlton’s the undercommons (his first solo exhibition) and The Hand That Guides, featuring Nathaniel Mary Quinn and Gregory Huebner, brought artists and audiences into conversation about mentorship, memory, and artistic lineage. Through intentional curation and public programs, our exhibitions helped connect artists’ studio practices to everyday community life, shining a light on South Side artists and reminding us how art can spark real conversation and understanding.
The Arts Lawn Public Art Project
In the early Fall, we announced The Arts Lawn Public Art Project featuring new commissioned work by Chicago-based artist Yvette Mayorga. Her sculpture Queen of the City—the first in her City Lovers in Paradise series—will be installed on the Arts Lawn next summer. The new piece draws on memory, labor, migration, and family stories, all in Mayorga’s signature detailed style. Even as we continue to build momentum and seek new funding partners, this is the beginning of a new chapter for public art on the South Side, building on and contributing to its evolving visual and cultural landscape.
Making
Connections
Public Programs
APL continued building meaningful connections among artists, audiences, and partner organizations through dynamic year-round public offerings. The 8th season of Rear-View Mirror Sessions brought record-breaking crowds to Duane Powell’s “In Memoriam” tributes to Quincy Jones, Roberta Flack, and Donny Hathaway. From June to October, First Monday Jazz: Big Band Summer brought crowds to the Arts Lawn, taking them back to the golden age of big band jazz in Chicago, led by renowned musician and bandleader Theophilus Reed.
Vends + Vibes: Arts Marketplace
South Side artists and makers returned to the Arts Lawn for another high-energy edition of APL’s signature Vends + Vibes Arts Marketplace. The day opened with grounding movement led by Tiffany Mangum’s House Yoga session, followed by a family-friendly Earth, Wind & Fire tribute from the South Side Fireflies that drew crowds of all ages. Live sets from Theo Reed and his Jazz Friends, along with a dynamic DJ lineup featuring Mr. Jaytoo and DJ Crew, kept the vibes upbeat throughout the afternoon. Shoppers browsed more than 25 vendor booths—discovering jewelry, vintage treasures, home goods, books, self-care essentials, and more—while reconnecting with neighbors and celebrating the creativity that fuels the South Side.
Yogis spread their mats on the Arts Lawn for Sunset Yoga with Rhya Moffitt. Each class featured floral teas and scented oils along with Black liberation readings. At In the Making: A Public Art Journey Through Washington Park, APL led a trolley tour of the imagined Washington Park Public Art Corridor, a new effort to expand the neighborhood’s commemorative landscape.
To wrap up the summer, GlowState invited storyteller Karla Estela Rivera, musician Anaiet Soul, and former L1 Creative Entrepreneur fellow Jamica Harper for a cozy, crafty evening around the bonfire. The Never So Free Excursion brought a bus full of artists and space makers on a tour of queer Black and brown arts spaces from Pilsen to Greater Grand Crossing, highlighting the ingenuity and innovation of artists creating space to support their arts and creative communities.
Nurturing the Next Generation
APL Course
During the spring, APL launched Arts + Public Life: Relationships, Engagement, and Cultural Stewardship on Chicago’s South Side. The UChicago course blended classroom learning with real, place-based creative work, giving students an up-close look at how artists and cultural workers shape and sustain a community — and how they can carry that work forward themselves.
Over nine weeks, students engaged in readings, discussions, presentations, and workshops with APL’s team. For their final projects, each student developed a proposal for a cultural project with an intentional connection to a location. The projects were remarkable in their range and imagination, from celebrating a specific text in a student’s hometown to creating a platform to position women playwrights to invigorate community arts.
Arts Education
This year, APL’s Arts Education programs continued to nurture the creativity, leadership, and civic imagination of young artists across Chicago’s South Side. We welcomed 371 youth to our spaces, providing them with 270 hours of hands-on learning, mentorship, and collaborative experiences in design/build, choreographic arts, arts leadership, and backstage production.
The Arts Education team launched the Choreographic Arts Program (CAP) and expanded its collaborative work through partnerships that brought together creativity, storytelling, and design. The Teen Arts Council (TAC) partnered with the Chicago Torture Justice Memorials Foundation, learning directly from survivors of police torture and transforming those stories into a moving picture book that honors resilience, truth, and healing.
Participants in the Design Apprenticeship Program (DAP) collaborated with Healthy Hood Chicago to design and build outdoor storage sheds that support the organization’s community garden network—an essential space for health, connection, and nourishment.
Each project connected young artists with organizations doing impactful work across Chicago, allowing teens to apply their knowledge and skills to real-world projects that serve their communities. We’re excited to keep growing with this next generation of makers, movers, and creative visionaries.
What to expect in 2026
As we look ahead to 2026, Arts + Public Life remains committed to Building Through Art and Action by strengthening our public art initiatives, developing a range of engagement opportunities, and honoring the stories that shape our communities.
We’re continuing our work with artist Yvette Mayorga to bring City Lovers in Paradise to life on the Arts Lawn, engaging neighbors through public programs, youth arts education, and our growing Keyholder community. In the spring, we’re excited to present a solo exhibition by 2023 Artist-in-Residence Jess Atieno, whose work explores memory, displacement, and transnational connections. Our celebration of the South Side Home Movie Project’s 20th anniversary will carry on throughout the summer of 2026 with programs in partnership with the Chicago Architecture Biennial, creating new opportunities to honor the past and imagine what’s possible, together.
We wish you a happy New Year and look forward to seeing you soon at the Arts Block!
With gratitude,
Alfredo Nieves-Moreno
Deputy Director
We are grateful for our 2025 University partners
Black Baroque Project
Center for the Study of Race, Politics and Culture
Chicago Center for Contemporary Theory
Chicago Community Trust
Chicago Studies
Department of Art History
Department of Music
Department of Race, Diaspora and Indigeneity
Department of Romance Languages and Literature
Film Studies Center
Neubauer Collegium for Culture and Society
Office of the Provost’s Diversity & Inclusion Initiative
Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts
Women’s Board at the University of Chicago
Our major funders
Paul M. Angell Family Foundation
Chicago Studies
College Curricular Innovation Fund
Critical Minded
Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events
Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation
Good Chaos
Irving Harris Foundation
Illinois Arts Council
MacArthur Foundation
Mellon Foundation
Ng Family Visiting Artist Fund
Revada Foundation
Terra Foundation for American Art
Walder Foundation
Our friends and partners across the city of Chicago
After School Matters
AfroDisco Social Hour
Black Alphabet
Black Film Club Chicago
Black Women Directors
Chicago Architecture Biennial
Chicago Defender Charities
Chicago Exhibition Weekend
Chicago Torture Justice Memorials Foundation
City of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE)
Elevated Chicago
Haymarket Books
Healthy Hood Chicago
House of the Lorde
Illinois Humanities
Italian Cultural Institute of Chicago
Jamii Center for Arts and Media
Kingdom Branding
Miyagi Records
Music Moves/Old Town School of Folk Music
Sisters in Cinema
Tea House Collective
And our 2025 photographers and videographers.
Ally Almore
Anajli Pinto
Jaclyn Rivas
Jean Moll LTD
Jeremy Franklin
Joel Maisonet
Jordan Esparza
Jovan Landry
Lyric Newbern
Ray Abercrombie
Sarah Pooley
Simeon Frierson