CHICAGO, IL — Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot, the Section of Cultural Affairs and Unique Situations (DCASE), the Chicago Park District, and other City of Chicago departments today introduced “Arts 77” — a citywide arts restoration and reopening program for all of Chicago’s 77 local community regions, representing an preliminary expense of over $60 million to assist local artists and businesses. Additional updates pertaining to financial grants and packages to aid arts recovery will follow in the upcoming months.
“Ahead of the pandemic struck, our arts and lifestyle sector was a considerable employer and financial driver that generated thousands of employment and billions of pounds for our city,” explained Mayor Lightfoot. “With this amazing system, we will not only be ready to revitalize this essential sector and offer assist to our artists, creative staff and businesses, but also put the arts at the middle of our city’s recovery endeavours.”
“Arts 77” alerts a new path for Chicago’s cultural coverage, in which the arts are embedded in initiatives and strategies across Metropolis federal government. This strategy seeks to increase obtain and participation in the arts citywide, prioritize employment of artistic staff by means of Metropolis packages and companies, and deepen general public sector expenditure in the imaginative sector while monetary aid and cultural policy. Today’s announcement launches new and expanded courses such as the Neighborhood Access Method, the Chicago Band Roster and Chicago Offers grant plans, Society in My Community (a $40 million collaboration by DCASE, the Chicago Park District, and Chicago Community Library), Personal Artists Application grants, Artist Reaction Plan grants, and $18.5 million in art and infrastructure investments. For particulars and upcoming Arts 77 webinars for the cultural neighborhood, check out Chicago.gov/Arts77.
“Chicago’s arts sector has been decimated by the world-wide pandemic. We have assembled an unprecedented array of assets to bolster our vital arts sector, and modern announcement is the first of many to comply with,” said DCASE Commissioner Mark Kelly. “These new applications will reinforce the arts and society landscape, help the City’s reopening, and progress Chicago’s economic restoration. DCASE will lead these in depth citywide attempts as we animate our neighborhoods with cultural lifetime and placement the arts as central to Chicago’s long run.”
“The arts are uniquely positioned to support in Chicago’s restoration endeavours, and innovative workers stand ready,” stated Amina J. Dickerson and Alison Cuddy, Cultural Advisory Council Chair and Vice Chair. “To thrive write-up-pandemic, the Town must leverage the electric power of its arts and lifestyle sector, putting artists to operate rebuilding, reimagining, unifying, and healing our neighborhoods.”
Increasing Accessibility and Participation in the Arts
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Commencing this summer months, the Town will rollout new tips, funding opportunities, and programs to enhance obtain and reopen the cultural sector. DCASE is presently accepting concept submissions for its new Neighborhood Entry Program, symbolizing $1 million in monetary grants (up to 40 grants ranging from $5,000 – $50,000) designed to be responsive to the advanced demands of specific communities. The application was developed to assistance the cultural vitality in neighborhoods with a focus on those people that have customarily not gained funding by means of the City’s Cultural Grants Software —and to collaborate with other City departments to make a collective effect in Devote South/West communities. The application opens April 20 at ChicagoCulturalGrants.org.

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Via Chicago Offers, DCASE will supply up to 100 grants (ranging from $5,000 – $30,000) to activate cultural packages that comply with general public wellness suggestions in neighborhoods throughout Chicago in Summer time 2021. Rising and established cultural presenters are invited to submit proposals for totally free reside, in-human being live shows and situations, spanning all audio genres, general performance, and dance that activate Chicago’s streets, plazas, and parks. In addition, presenters may find up to two solo musicians and/or bands from the Chicago Band Roster to engage in at their function. The Band Roster is a new source listing about 200 Chicago-dependent musicians of all genres — made as component of the 2021 Year of Chicago Music. Software opens April 20 at chicago.gov/music.

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Society in My Community is a new collaborative initiative that supports cultural programming at the Chicago Cultural Center, 18 Chicago Park District neighborhood cultural centers, and the Chicago General public Library regional libraries — by grants and commission alternatives for artists and businesses. It seeks to grow accessibility and participation in South and West Side neighborhoods that have lacked common cultural infrastructure this sort of as museums and theaters. This method enhances an about $40 million capital investment that will break floor in 2021 in the City’s network of cultural facilities to update theater, new music, dance, and visible art presentation capabilities at these facilities. Artists and companies will get monetary assistance — like all those who were displaced by the COVID-19 pandemic — and neighborhood inhabitants will delight in totally free and affordable, higher-high quality cultural ordeals in their personal neighborhoods.




“Chicago parks have long furnished inexpensive obtain to the arts,” explained Chicago Park District Typical Superintendent and CEO Michael Kelly. “We are thrilled to partner with our sister companies to increase existing sources. Lifestyle in My Community and the broader Arts 77 prepare will celebrate Chicago’s vivid lifestyle even though fueling community engagement in our communities. From Austin to West Pullman, our 18 community cultural facilities will continue to provide as important cultural belongings for many years to occur.”
Supporting Artists and Creative Personnel
Recognizing that artists have always played an vital purpose in advancing the leads to of justice and racial fairness, DCASE will assistance artists in establishing tasks that have interaction the general public in a constructive, civic dialogue that will propel our collective motion, aid progress, and make Chicago a design city for the nation as it faces the hard do the job in advance.
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Through its new Artist Reaction Application, DCASE has awarded 5 artists and artist groups $100,000 grants. Artist awardees declared now are: Tonika Lewis Johnson Santiago X Kirsten Leenaars with Circles and Ciphers Pilsen Housing Cooperative with Hector Duarte, Nicole Marroquin, and Gabriel Villa and an artist group with Aquil Charlton, William Estrada, Andrés Lemus-Spont, and Marya Spont-Lemus. In addition to particular person artist grants, seven arts organizations will obtain grants ranging from $50,000 – $100,000 to re-grant funds to approximately 60 artists. Re-granting companions declared currently are: ConTextos, Folded Map Venture/Englewood Arts Collective, Entire Spectrum Functions, Bigger Southwest Development Company, Jazz Institute of Chicago, Kartemquin Movies, and the Countrywide Museum of Mexican Art. The Artist Reaction Program represents a $1.2 million expense, such as around $600,000 in support available quickly via re-granting partners.


DCASE is also delighted to announce the 2021 recipients of its yearly Particular person Artists Method grants, supporting Chicago’s working towards artists in producing function that develops their craft and elevates their careers while adding to the cultural vitality of the town of Chicago. This yr, 162 task-dependent grants in between $800 to $5,000 will be awarded to resident Chicago artists in excess of the age of 18 throughout all creative disciplines which include movie & media arts, literary arts, doing arts (theatre/dance), songs and visible arts/structure. In addition to the Personal Artists Program venture grants, 13 high-capable artists will receive the Esteemed Artist Award, a particular $10,000 grant for charges related with an artist’s exercise in just the 2021 grant time period, like studio rental, materials, journey and devices. In celebration of 2021 as the 12 months of Chicago Songs, half of the Esteemed Artist Awards are likely to regional musicians – Afinca’o, Jeff Baraka, Billy Branch, Joelle Lamarre, Vivian McConnell, Matt Ulery, and Wanees Zarour. Award recipients in other disciplines are Colette Ghunim (Film & Media Arts), Anuradha Rana (Film & Media Arts), Natasha Tarpley (Literary Arts), Cat Mahari (Executing Arts), Daris Jasper (Visible Art & Layout) and Anke Loh (Visual Artwork & Structure).
Investing in Arts and Infrastructure
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The next packages figure out the abilities of artists as resourceful problem solvers who can enable notify, greatly enhance, and aid the operate of Metropolis departments. They will also be substantial employment generators.

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Below the management of Mayor Lightfoot, the Chicago Division of Transportation and the Department of Belongings, Data, and Companies, the new multi-calendar year, wants-centered Capital Program will not only leverage money advancements to spur nearby financial growth and work generation, but also mark a significant advancement in the regular of general public asset routine maintenance, and, for that reason, the high-quality of life and livability of all Chicago communities.

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Community art will be integrated into the Money Approach to switch the every day into the remarkable, bodily, and symbolically communicating connections among neighborhoods, histories, people today, and futures. Community art tasks will develop into important locations and cultural landmarks, contributing to the city’s financial growth. For the very first time, the City integrated community art into the Funds Program, investing at minimum $15 million in community art around the upcoming five several years .

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Additionally, DCASE and the Chicago Department of Aviation now announce a $3.5 million general public artwork strategy as section of the Terminal 5 enlargement job at O’Hare Worldwide Airport. The challenge provides a special option to celebrate the function of Chicagoland artists by means of significant-scale commissions and acquisitions, and to present global website visitors a dynamic and welcoming very first impression of our metropolis. Up to 30 Chicago-place artists will participate in this application — the most significant single acquisition of operates by Chicago artists by the Metropolis in the very last 30 years.





In the coming months, the City will launch a lot more plans to aid Chicago’s resourceful restoration, together with a new software to assist arts education companies and pupils added grant courses to maximize arts entry for people today with disabilities, more mature adults, veterans, and people living in institutions workforce enhancement courses to support stabilize and improve Chicago’s innovative economic climate, together with suggestions outlined in the report made by the Chicago COVID-19 Recovery Activity Force to guidance employment in the film marketplace more immediate money relief programs for people and organizations artist engagement in We Will Chicago — the to start with citywide prepare in which artists will engage in a central job in creating community policy and a community consciousness and advocacy campaign reiterating the relevance of the regional arts sector, created with world-wide communications agency FleishmanHillard and the Cultural Advisory Council.
Chicago Division of Cultural Affairs and Special Situations
The Section of Cultural Affairs and Exclusive Events is dedicated to enriching Chicago’s inventive vitality and cultural vibrancy. This contains fostering the development of Chicago’s non-profit arts sector, unbiased performing artists, and for-earnings arts businesses furnishing a framework to guide the city’s foreseeable future cultural and financial advancement advertising and marketing the city’s cultural property to a globally audience and presenting high-top quality, cost-free, and inexpensive cultural packages for residents and readers.
Chicago Park District
The Chicago Park District has served Chicago residents for far more than 85 a long time. It is a Gold Medal Award-successful group, which acknowledges excellence in park and recreation management across the nation. For more information and facts about the Chicago Park District’s extra than 8,800 acres of parkland, much more than 600 parks, 26 miles of lakefront, 12 museums, two earth-class conservatories, 16 historic lagoons, approximately 50 mother nature parts, 1000’s of specific activities, sports activities and entertainment packages, remember to check out www.chicagoparkdistrict.com or get hold of the Chicago Park District at 312/742.Perform or 312/747.2001 (TTY). Want to share your expertise? Volunteer in the parks by calling, 312/742.Play. Comply with us at fb/chicagoparkdistrict, on Instagram/chicagoparks and on Twitter @chicagoparks.
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