Chicago's Creative Futures: Reflections and Motions for an Equitable Artistic Ecosystem by Patsy Diaz

Chicago's Creative Futures: Reflections and Motions for an Equitable Artistic Ecosystem

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introducing CAMP 3-5 The Re:Center Initiative 6-8 Methods 9 - 11 CAMP Tools 12 - 19

CAMP ANNUAL REPORT 2021

ALAANA / BIPOC Focus Groups 21 - 34 Conclusion 36-40 Acknowledgements 41

INTRODUCING CAMP

CAMP ANNUAL REPORT 2021

INTRODUCING CAMP

The Cultural Asset Mapping Project (CAMP) tells a rich and inclusive story about creativity in Chicago. It combines current technologies of geo-location mapping with ancient traditions of storytelling to survey our creative potential in time and space. This project aligns with an unprecedented commitment to investment in the South and West sides through Mayor Lightfoot’s INVEST South/West initiative as well as many other recent public investment initiatives focused on disinvested areas of the city. As such, CAMP supports, amplifies, and facilitates a collaborative cultural vision for the neighborhoods we are working within, encouraging funders and producers to take more direct action toward supporting cultural agents working within and for their communities. Lastly, a range of upgrades is coming to park cultural centers on the South and West sides of the city. Your input will help inform how we think of programming those upgraded facilities with relevant cultural activity. CAMP grows out of the Re:Center Initiative, a long-term visioning process for all 15 cultural centers in Chicago Park District’s network (2015-2020). CAMP started as a proposal in late 2019 and transitioned into a series of public, artist-led workshops held between August and October 2020 for nine different communities. While the COVID-19 pandemic made the original plan of hosting in-person storytelling events impossible, it opened up time and

CAMP ANNUAL REPORT 2021

resources for the Arts & Culture Unit to dive deeper into the backend of the website and mapping tools. Simultaneously, the pandemic highlighted systemic inequity and the precarity of creative practices, institutions, and industries. CAMP’s central aims to act as a public resource highlighting under-appreciated artists and practices, connecting organizations and makers to share resources and skills, and mapping the vibrancies and struggles for creativity and joy in each neighborhood became even more urgent. We aim to continue with CAMP for as long as it resonates and finds support. CAMP is held by the Arts & Culture Unit of the Chicago Park District. CAMP was initially funded as part of a larger effort by the League of Chicago Theaters and DCASE as a response to the call for a deeper understanding and engagement with theater and performance spaces in the South and West Sides of Chicago. We have since secured additional funding from Enrich Chicago to grasp the material and social realities of BIPOC/ALAANA artists working in Chicago today.

CAMP ANNUAL REPORT 2021

THE RE:CENTER INITIATIVE

“We prioritize the importance of providing adequate cultural programming spaces to neighborhood artists, communities, and young emerging artists."

CAMP ANNUAL REPORT 2021

THE RE:CENTER INITIATIVE

The Re:Center initiative was a creative placemaking effort driven by local artists and residents and anchored in Chicago’s neighborhoods from 2015-2019. Through Re:Center, the Chicago Park District’s fifteen Cultural Centers collaborated with surrounding communities to reimagine cultural priorities and programming at each site. Each year, three Cultural Centers were initiated into a multiyear process that attempted to leverage these public parks as sites of civic engagement, learning, and creative communion. In their first year, each Cultural Center worked with a cultural liaison to facilitate sustained convenings of community stakeholders. Park staff, stakeholders, and the Re:Center team hosted a “Listening Party” event where desires and needs for artistic and cultural programs were identified, alongside challenges specific to those communities and parks. In the second year, a newly formed cultural committee and a contracted artist-in-residence envisioned and developed a culminating event, public artwork, or community project. These formalized roles and structure helped to achieve some of those unique cultural priorities identified in the first year. The third-year marked the gradual closing of the cultural liaison’s tenure at that location, with the intention that the cultural committees and park staff would be empowered to function independently as programmers of their local Cultural Centers.

CAMP ANNUAL REPORT 2021

Through Re:Center, community members, artists, and park staff worked together to envision Chicagoans as cultural stewards of our public parks and Cultural Centers. Partially funded by NEA Our Town and in partnership with Lookingglass Theater, the initiative was developed and guided by the Arts & Culture Unit of the Chicago Park District as a means to support communities with cultural programming resources and skillsets. This mission continues with the Cultural Asset Mapping Project, funded in part by the City of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, the League of Chicago Theaters, and Enrich Chicago. In addition, the Arts & Culture Unit continues to support cultural partnerships that grew out of Re:Center and provide ongoing support of Cultural Center staff and programs. Over the next several years a number of capital improvements are underway at many Cultural Centers bringing upgrades to stages, sound and lighting systems, curtains, and art gallery spaces. Reinforced through the community engagement work of Re:Center and now through CAMP, we prioritize the importance of providing adequate cultural programming spaces to neighborhood artists, communities, and young emerging artists. We also recognize the importance of gathering input from these stakeholders to help shape how these community spaces will be best activated with robust programming to serve their respective communities and the city.

METHODS

“...[E]mpowering community and artists to develop citizen-driven, creative solutions to address needs and aspirations in their larger community.”

METHODS

Working with artist teams to develop community-engaged mapping sessions that built on existing data and connections, CAMP centers a collaborative framework to seed and grow cultural programming based on neighborhood needs and assets.

CAMP ANNUAL REPORT 2021

These mapping sessions were intended to be incremental, interactive, and activated by selected artist teams through storytelling, performance, dance, writing, filmmaking, and other socially-engaged, generative art forms. In line with Re:Center, we continued the process of empowering community and artists to develop citizen-driven, creative solutions to address needs and aspirations in their larger community. Phase 1 of the Cultural Asset Mapping Project engaged 13 artists from across Chicago to help map assets and resources in cultural hubs around 9 Chicago Park District Cultural Centers, mostly on the South and West Sides. This mapping exercise was originally envisioned as a series of in-person gatherings that would then be documented and summarized through digital representation and illustration tools. Due to COVID-19 and the subsequent stay-athome order, this process began online with virtual workshops and internet-based tools that engaged participants digitally to gather data and anecdotal input. This research, data, documentation and process in turn populated the cultural asset map and provided material and inspiration for commissioned artistic responses by

artists/artist teams, with the goal of uplifting art and culture outside of the over-resourced downtown and North Side regions. CAMP was guided by the following design principles and questions:

1. Artist-led community engagement process.

6. What kinds of creative resources are needed or requested?

2. Collaborative framework between CPD team, artists and 7. How could we bring these independent artist-consultants ideas together to support crossto conceive of process and tools. disciplinary richness? 3. Interactive and highly visual interface for engaged analysis and interpretation. 4. Integration of both analog and digital tools into the process, inputs, and outputs.

CAMP ANNUAL REPORT 2021

5. How might we activate potential agent-assets and identify target groups (youth, teens, seniors, families, artists, cultural workers, culture keepers, storytellers, etc.)?

8. How might we imagine leveraging several resources together to maximize impact and create transformative change? 9. How might the park cultural centers serve as hubs to help catalyze this activity and transformation? 10. What role can art, artists, and art institutions play in this process?

In Phase 2, the project expanded from 9 cultural hubs to a citywide survey of arts and culture, with a focus on designing a series of focus groups that discussed Chicago’s cultural landscape, and identified resources and tools needed by ALAANA & BIPOC artists and cultural workers. These discussions, developed collaboratively between Outreach Coordinator Craig Stevenson, Data Evaluation Consultant Sara Sukhun, and the Chicago Park District Arts & Culture Unit, placed 46 artists and cultural workers in small focus groups organized by discipline and identity. This report will share the findings of these focus group discussions, in the hopes of raising awareness and action around the resources needed to improve Chicago’s cultural landscape for ALAANA and BIPOC (and, by extension, all) communities.

CAMP ANNUAL REPORT 2021

CAMP TOOLS

The Cultural Asset Mapping Project utilizes an interwoven system of survey, mapping, and data analysis tools from ArcGIS Online by ESRI to power our Cultural Asset Map and hub.

CAMP ANNUAL REPORT 2021

The Cultural Asset Map synthesizes datasets collected from field work by the Chicago Park District’s Arts & Culture Unit through the Re:Center Project, along with two surveys that directly populate the Cultural Asset Map - the Community Storyteller Survey, and the Chicago Creatives Network survey.

that have made an impact in their lives and neighborhoods, with an emphasis on theater, performance, and art. Storytellers from neighborhoods across the city mapped written, audio, and video stories that speak to diverse representations of art and culture in Chicago. This survey measures cultural richness across Chicago neighborhoods, and uplifts cultural capital in neighborhoods that are often underrepresented and undersupported.

The Chicago Creatives Network Survey (CCN) asks artists, The Community Storyteller designers, cultural producers, Survey asks Chicagoans creative entrepreneurs, and to share stories about the organizations working in important culture keepers, Chicago to share their practices, creative organizations, cultural resources, and needs on the programs, memories, and places map. With submissions from

Focus Groups

Number of Entries

Artist Cohort Outreach

How many entries were uploaded to the storytelling survey per month?

CAMP ANNUAL REPORT 2021

a variety of fields and disciplines, the CCN offers Chicagoans a tool to discover future collaborators and opportunities in specific neighborhoods through this location-based technology. This aspect of the work expands upon our role as creative civic connectors and re-imagines the potential of the Chicago Park District in impacting arts programming at a local level. With hopes of measuring the effectiveness of CAMP tools and ensuring adequate representation of artists, organizations, collectives, and stories across Chicago neighborhoods, we underwent an analysis of user interaction

May 2021

April 2021

March 2021

February 2021

January 2021

December 2020

November 2020

October 2020

September 2020

August 2020

with the two surveys. The following questions and findings guide our learning and direct future development of the CAMP project: 1. How has engagement with the two surveys fluctuated between August 2020 and May 2021? What might this tell us about outreach efforts and user interest? We see an increase in user engagement with the CCN survey between September and October, November and December, and February and March. The lowest number of entries falls outside of these two phases, between January and February.

Focus Groups

December 2020

November 2020

October 2020

September 2020

April 2021 May 2021

April 2021

May 2021

March 2021

20 February 2021

February 2021

60 January 2021

How do monthly uploads compare for the two surveys?

January 2021

December 2020

November 2020

October 2020

Number of Entries 100

September 2020

August 2020

Focus Groups

Artist Cohort Outreach

Number of Entries 100

August 2020

CAMP ANNUAL REPORT 2021 15

How many entries were uploaded to the CCN survey per month?

20 15 Albany Park Avondale Belmont Cragin Chatham Dunning Edison Park Grand Boulevard Greater Grand Crossing Hermosa Humboldt Park Hyde Park Irving Park Jefferson Park Kenwood Lakeview Lincoln Park Lincoln Square Logan Square Loop Lower West Side Mckinley Park Near North Side Near South Side Near West Side New City North Center North Lawndale North Park Norwood Park Oakland Portage Park Rogers Park Roseland South Chicago South Lawndale South Shore Uptown Washington Park West Elsdon West Garfield Park West Town Woodlawn

Number of Entries

In which neighborhoods are CCN users based?

CAMP ANNUAL REPORT 2021

These timeframes roughly correspond to Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the project; respectively, artist cohort outreach, and focus group engagement. We see an increase in user engagement with the storytelling survey between August and September, October and November, and January and March. Increases and decreases in engagement are more pronounced than they are in the CCN survey, with the peak engagement

occurring between October and November, likely due to the outreach work of the artists cohort. The second highest period for user engagement falls within the time frame of the focus groups, between February and March. Once again, the lowest number of entries falls outside of these two phases in May 2021. A notable discrepancy can be seen between engagement with the CCN survey and the storytelling survey. While it is difficult to pinpoint the reason

In which community areas are CCN users based?

Far North Side North Side Northwest Side Central, Near North, and Near South Side West and Near West Side Southwest Side South Side Far South Side

for this, it might indicate a greater interest on the part of artists to be represented on a database that has potential for future employment opportunities or collaborations.

CAMP ANNUAL REPORT 2021

Overall, it seems that outreach work has been beneficial in encouraging artists and community members to engage with the surveys. More work continues to be done on engaging users through other means, such as marketing and social media outreach. 2. Which neighborhoods and community areas are most widely represented on this tool? What can this tell us about where artists are located and how far reaching our outreach has been?

Chicago’s 77 neighborhoods represented on the map to date. This dispels the notion that Central and North Side areas form Chicago’s artistic and cultural hub, and attest to the cultural work that is happening in several neighborhoods across the city. When aggregating neighborhoods into community areas, we find that artists are represented from 8 out of 9 Chicago areas, including: • Far North Side • North Side • Northwest Side • Central, Near North, and Near South Sides • West and Near West Sides • Southwest Side • South Side • Far South Side

Of these, the greatest It is very important to note that number of CCN users live in CCN users are based in a variety neighborhoods on the Far North of neighborhoods, with 42 of Side, followed by the West and

How do individuals on the CCN survey identify?

African, African American, Black

Latinx, Latina, Latino

Asian, South Asian, Asian American

Multiracial, Biracial

American Indian, Native American

Middle Eastern, North African

White

Other

How do collectives on the CCN survey identify?

CAMP ANNUAL REPORT 2021

How do organizations on the CCN survey identify?

How users of the story survey identify?

African, African American, Black

BIPOC

Latinx, Latina, Latino

ALAANA

Asian, South Asian, Asian American

BIPOC + ALAANA

Multiracial, Biracial

White

American Indian, Native American

Other

Middle Eastern, North African White Other

Near West Sides, and the North and South Sides respectively. We hope that these findings will encourage investment in all Chicago neighborhoods, rather than concentrating it in Central and North Side areas. We also intend to continue engaging users in lesser represented neighborhoods, as well as amplify outreach to the Southwest, Far Southwest, and Far South Sides. 3. How do users of the two surveys identify? What can this tell us about our own success in reaching ALAANA and BIPOC communities? The majority of individuals on the CCN survey identify as African, African American, or Black, while the majority of organizations and collectives identify as White or Caucasian. However, it should be noted that the majority of individual users (69%), organizations (63%), and collectives (66%), identify aggregately as belonging to African, Latinx, Asian, Arab, Native American (ALAANA) and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) groups. When compared to the US census bureau of 2019 in which White citizens account for 50% of the population this data finding demonstrates a considerable presence of ALAANA and BIPOC artists in the city. While this may in part be explained by our emphasis on increasing representation of

What are the key concerns of all CCN users?

What are the key concerns of ALAANA / BIPOC CCN users?

Requesting Paid Work / Gigs / Grants

Having Access to Performance and Arts Spaces

Engaging in Collaboration

Including Parks

Requesting Exhibit / Showcase / Performance Opportunities

Engaging in Residencies / Workshops / Apprenticeships

Engaging in Community Building Projects

Offering Job / Volunteer / Showcase Opportunities

ALAANA and BIPOC groups, it remains evident that these identities form a significant portion of Chicago arts and culture practitioners. Similarly, a majority of the story survey users identify as ALAANA or BIPOC, making up 82% of the total entries. This leads us to conclude that we have successfully reached culture keepers from underrepresented communities. CAMP ANNUAL REPORT 2021

CCN users voiced several interests. The highest priorities included finding opportunities for paid work, followed closely by opportunities for collaboration, and opportunities to showcase, perform, or exhibit their work.

While ALAANA and BIPOC users’ needs largely reflect those of all CCN users, the number of job, volunteer, and showcase opportunities 4. What opportunities are CCN listed by this demographic is users looking for? How does significantly lower than the this issue relate specifically to total amount. Thus, ALAANA ALAANA and BIPOC users? and BIPOC communities seem less ready to offer employment When asked what types of and showcase opportunities, a opportunities they are seeking, point that might confirm some

How do CCN users envision using the CAMP tool?

Requesting Paid Work / Gigs / Grants

Having Access to Performance and Arts Spaces

Engaging in Collaboration

Engaging in Residencies / Workshops / Apprenticeships

Requesting Exhibit / Showcase / Performance Opportunities

Offering Job / Volunteer / Showcase Opportunities

Engaging in Community Building Projects

Using the Tool as an Archive / Directory

of the difficulties outlined by focus group participants and elaborated in the next section of this report. Briefly, these include sustaining businesses, finding funding for projects, and paying collaborators. 5. How do users envision CAMP tools being used? User visions for CAMP tools mostly correlate to the opportunities they described themselves as looking for, with the exception of the CAMP database being seen as an CAMP ANNUAL REPORT 2021

archive of Chicago arts and artists. However, as compared to the kinds of opportunities sought by users which place paid work, gigs, and grants as most highly requested, user visions for the CCN tended towards forging collaboration, followed by engaging in community building projects and offering job and volunteer opportunities. The database is therefore thought of as a repository of artists through which to find collaborators and volunteers and connect to communities.

ALAANA / BIPOC FOCUS GROUPS

CAMP ANNUAL REPORT 2021

ALAANA / BIPOC FOCUS GROUPS

A primary objective of the CAMP program is to better understand and represent the needs of African, Latinx, Asian, Arab, Native American (ALAANA) and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) artists, cultural producers, and community members. With hopes of engaging this demographic in the process of identifying equity goals, we hosted ten focus groups in which participants shared stories reflective of Chicago’s cultural landscape, and brainstormed ideas for the development of mutual aid networks and cultural infrastructure. In order to allow a diversity of contextspecific concerns and solutions to surface, most focus groups were organized according to

profession, with the exception of two that were geared towards the needs of immigrant artists and artist networks. The focus groups, hosted in March and April of 2021, engaged with: • Performance Artists • Theater Artists • Theater Technicians and Designers • Musicians • Writers and Poets • Visual Artists • Social Practice Artists and Community Organizations • Immigrant Artists • Urbanists and Designers • Artist Networks With the goal of forging communication with and between several identity groups, we reached out to individuals, organizations, and collectives -

ALAANA / BIPOC Artists Focus Group Agenda 10 minutes

Agenda & Overview + Introductions: - Share your name, organization, pronouns, favorite neighborhood cultural space. - Disclaimer: Session is being recorded, Community agreement to respect everyone’s privacy.

05 minutes

Tell Your Story: - Tell a story about a cultural asset in Chicago in under thirty seconds.

20 - 30 minutes

Fortunately / Unfortunately Game: - How do these stories reflect Chicago’s cultural assets and shortcomings? What are the foruntate details of the stories we shared and the unfortunate ones?

40 - 50 minutes

Mutual Aid Discussion: - We will now have a conversation about mutual aid networks. We circulated a list of questions. Feel free to engage with the questions or to give your own ideas: 1. What are some of the challenges that are specific to ALAANA/BIPOC arts and cultural producers? 2. How can a mutual aid network help to serve the needs of ALAANA/BIPOC arts and cultural producers? How can CAMP be used to support a mutual aid network? 3. How can a mutual aid network foster better economic well-being for Chicago arts and cultural producers? 4. How can CAMP be used to create arts and culturally engaging activities to connect residents more closely to their community? 5. How can CAMP facilitate awareness and connection through various Chicago communities? 6. How can CAMP facilitate authentic learning within various Chicago communities?

05 minutes

Wrap Up: - Thank you for your attendance. We will be following up with a communication toolkit you can use to help us spread the word about the CAMP project.

CAMP ANNUAL REPORT 2021

with myriad scales of operation - from several neighborhoods to populate this list. Participants were asked to engage with both CAMP surveys prior to the meeting and to come prepared to discuss needs and mutual aid ideas. Each session began with a storytelling exercise in which participants detailed an event, place, or person that represents the cultural vibrancy of their neighborhoods and/or

Chicago. Participants were then asked to consider the existing assets and shortcomings of Chicago’s arts and culture sector while ruminating on some of the stories shared. The needs and difficulties faced by cultural workers organically led to ideating communal solutions. We supplemented this conversation with a list of mutual aid questions that was circulated before the meeting and that participants were asked to consider.

How do focus group participants identify?

In which neighborhoods are focus group participants based? Albany Park Austin Brighton Park Chicago Lawn Douglas Dunning Edgewater

African, African American, Black

Glencoe

Latinx, Latina, Latino Asian, South Asian, Asian American Multiracial, Biracial American Indian, Native American Unreported

Greater Grand Crossing Humboldt Park Hyde Park Irving Park Lincoln Square

In which community areas are focus group participants based?

Logan Square Mckinley Park Near West Side New City North Center Oakland Portage Park Rogers Park South Lawndale

CAMP ANNUAL REPORT 2021

Far North Side North Side Northwest Side West and Near West Side Southwest Side South Side Chicago Suburbs Unreported

South Shore Uptown Washington Park West Town Unknown 0

KEY CONCERNS

Key concerns for artists and cultural workers were raised and discussed during each session. The primary issues raised by participants correspond to the following areas: 1. Funding An overwhelming majority of participants expressed difficulty with finding adequate funding for their endeavors and receiving fair compensation for their labor. Concerns in this area

funding from grant programs, fellowships, and residencies also came under scrutiny as artists expressed disappointment at having to alter their work in order to abide by the political constraints of funding institutions. 2. Access to Arts and Community Spaces Access to spaces was a concern for artists from several fields, ranging from the performing arts

CAMP ANNUAL REPORT 2021

“Even me as a person who lives in Bronzeville and works there, if the South Side Community Arts center had the kind of funding to keep me on full time, I would divest myself from [certain institutions]...” ranged broadly from the historic and ongoing disinvestment in BIPOC and ALAANA communities to more particular difficulties faced by independent artists and organizations, such as paying rent and living expenses, funding projects from conception to completion, and paying collaborators and venues when necessary. Conditional

to design disciplines. The types of spaces needed were reflective of disciplinary specializations, including spaces for rehearsal, performance, design ideation, and production. Gentrification and disinvestment were widely referenced as key factors in the disappearance of spaces for community gathering and creative production. Participants

How many focus groups mention each of the key concerns?

Funding Sustainability Artist and Community Connections Spaces Social Services Informative Resources CPD and DCASE relationships

illustrated a double-bind wherein their neighborhoods either suffered from disinvestment or experienced gentrification brought about by profit-driven private sector investment. A desire for public sector investment was voiced, with the provision that neighborhood occupants be protected from rising costs of living and housing, and be involved in directing funds and planning community development projects.

CAMP ANNUAL REPORT 2021

3. Sustainability of Cultural Organizations Related to the above stated issues of funding and access to spaces, we heard recurring concerns about the many obstacles to sustaining arts organizations. Alongside difficulties in finding funding and maintaining access to spaces, social barriers and mental and physical burnout were cited as key factors in the constant turnover of cultural organizations. The sustainability of many organizations and collectives, especially small and hyperlocal ones, was

seen as being directly tied to the capacity of individual leaders. When leaders burn out and move on, these institutions are left weakened and increasingly vulnerable to closure. Suggestions to approach this problem ranged from funding community owned and led business models to fostering intergenerational communication and solidarity amongst cultural workers. 4. Forging Connections Between Artists and Communities Participants showed interest in CAMP as a vehicle for connecting artists to each other and to Chicago communities. A desire for mentorship, collaboration, and co-working were voiced, as well as for the facilitation of mutual aid networks by connecting artists. We also witnessed an interest in social networks that can offer inkind moral as well as professional support. Community outreach was emphasized as a means by which a more egalitarian approach to cultural work can be forged.

5. Access to Professional Development Resources

6. Social Services and Community Programs

A strong interest in informative resources for professional development was expressed in forms ranging from virtual tools and programmed events to community resource centers. Sample skill building workshops and online resources might include such services as helping young artists navigate the professional field, training artists to write grant applications, making available industry standards for wages, and providing resources for meeting basic needs such as legal advice, healthcare, and childcare services.

Participants reflected on difficulties in sustaining an artistic practice whilst navigating a landscape in which social services and community programs are distinctly lacking. Lack of access to housing, healthcare, child care, and wellness services were all cited as obstacles to creative production, especially given that many artists are gig or part-time workers who don’t receive benefits. Cultural producers gave accounts of being overworked and underpaid, often having to take monetary risks to realize

Which focus groups mention each of the key concerns? Performing Artists Theater Artists Theater Technicians Musicians

Concerns Raised

CPD /DCASE relations

Informative Resources

Artist Networks

Social Services

Urbanists / Designers

Sustainability

Immigrant Artists

Spaces

Social Practice Artists

Funding

CAMP ANNUAL REPORT 2021

Visual Artists

Artist and Community Connections

Writers and Poets

projects or working extra jobs to support their artistic practice. Suggestions were made for supporting artists by attaching social services to employment opportunities. More specifically, different institutions can cluster artist opportunities into packages that add up to fulltime employment and provide social benefits.

6. Forging Relations with Chicago Park District and DCASE

Concerns in this area centered around two primary issues; difficulty in gaining access to the parks and the relative remoteness of the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events office locations to artists living outside of the Loop Dwindling community programs area. Bureaucratic procedures were also voiced as barriers were pointed to as creating to collaboration within and hurdles for artists interested across neighborhoods, with in using the parks for creative segregation playing a key role in production. Suggestions dividing communities. Emphasis were made for increased was once more placed on transparency on the capacities enabling community members and facilities of different parks, through inclusive governance simplifying applications for the and staffing structures of development of park programs

CAMP ANNUAL REPORT 2021

“I think about that in a lot of planning work that I do… What ways can we make people be part of this? My whole philosophy around planning is to build not for the community but plan with the community” programs. Artists gave examples of their own work whereby they created opportunities for community engagement through their artistic projects, whether by employing youth and teaching them certain skills, or encouraging community members to engage in planning activities.

and events, and the creation of a single set of rules and procedures that would apply to parks on a city-wide scale. We also heard suggestions for the creation of satellite DCASE offices in different neighborhoods as a means by which to deepen relationships with community members.

IN FOCUS

Dance and Performance Art Participants in this group voiced difficulty in finding funding and spaces for rehearsal and performance. We learned that funding for styles of dance alternative to classical ballet and its derivatives is often sparse, and allocated to a handful of well-known companies. Due to a lack of financial support, independent and emerging artists often work full-time jobs outside of their artistic profession and sometimes even have to pay production costs out of pocket.

CAMP ANNUAL REPORT 2021

“That’s another thing I think about when we think about these abandoned lots and buildings: consult the people who are going to be using the space when you are rehabbing a building or creating something new. If we can’t use it, then what’s the point? Make it space, make it accessible.”

We were also informed of a need for safe spaces to engage in rehearsal and performance, with the caveat that architectural planning should involve dancers and performers to ensure proper technical specifications for creative use. A lack of available spaces dedicated to the performance arts, particularly on the South Side, means that artists often perform in schools and parks with diminished creative uses. Many artists also create choreographies without being aware of the final venue in which the performance will take place. This results in unforeseen difficulties and higher risks of physical injury once the performance piece is transported to its final context, at times only days before the performance date. Facilities dedicated solely to professional performance art would allow dancers and choreographers to occupy spaces for longer periods

of time, such that a single performance piece can be practiced and performed on the same stage. This would also allow for greater foresight in planning technical aspects of the performance such as lighting and set design. Suggestions were made to rehabilitate and reactivate existing performance spaces on the South Side of Chicago, including the Forum and the Regal Theatre. Theater In addition to citing problems of funding, access to performance spaces, and access to basic needs, participants in this group generated a discussion on the usability and accessibility of parks as venues for performances and programs. Participants expressed difficulty in navigating park use for creative practice, and cited bureaucracy as one of the obstacles to the activation of parks and cultural centers as sites of artistic growth. Examples of difficulties related to this issue include not knowing whether cultural centers and parks provide funding for artists to activate the parks, facing restrictions in the types of content artists are allowed to produce (such as art that offers social or political critiques), and feeling that audiences were valued more highly than artists.

CAMP ANNUAL REPORT 2021

“It’s really about that paradigm shift: so how do you think of yourself as a Chicago artist? We value you as the city of Chicago. You are an asset to the cultural and economic vitality of our city, therefore, because we value you, we offer this to you. It’s not cultural extraction for the service of the park or the people who visit it, it’s an investment in you as an artist that represents our city.”

Following from this, a suggestion was made to centralize the process by which parks can be accessed and used for cultural production, as well as clarifying the specific capabilities of each park in supporting live performance. In addition, programming should be conceived of as an investment in artists as well as audiences, offering fair compensation and giving artists the opportunity to work freely and creatively.

Technical Theater This group emphasized the challenges faced by emerging artists within the technical theater discipline. To begin with, minimal training outside institutions of higher education makes it difficult for youth to be introduced to the practice, especially those from BIPOC and ALAANA communities, who are scarcely reflected in the field of scenic design. Once an artist is trained as a technical designer, limited support for gaining employment on stage productions as well as lacking funding for the initiation of independent projects creates a further barrier to entry into the professional field. For practicing designers, access to props is also often tied to institutions, such as DePaul and Northwestern Universities, and therefore limited. Finally, accessing tools such as 3-D printers and carpentry equipment is difficult, as well as having a space to prototype and produce needed equipment. Participants practiced ideation for a community maker space that would bring together experienced and emerging designers and provide essential tools for education, prototyping, and production. With a mind towards collaboration and sustainability, participants envisioned creating a mutual aid system whereby designers could recycle built materials, offer each other transportation and delivery services, and browse listings of props.

CASE STUDY:

CAMP ANNUAL REPORT 2021

How might you navigate a virtual mutual aid tool as a practitioner in the technical theater industry?

PROP PROVIDER

DESIGNER

TEACHER

STUDENT

OTHER

LIST A PROP!

LOOKING TO...

POST REQUESTS FOR MENTORSHIP

WHAT IS IT?

FIND PROPS?

BROWSE REQUESTS FOR MENTORSHIP

MAKE A SUGGESTION TO BETTER THE PLATFORM

WHERE IS IT?

OFFER BUILT STRUCTURES?

POST A CLASS OR MAKER EVENT

WHAT DOES IT COST TO RENT? WOULD YOU LIKE TO STORE IT IN OUR FACILITY?

FIND OR OFFER TRANSPORATION? FIND COLLABORATORS?

BROWSE A CLASS OR MAKER EVENT

POST HOW-TO’S

BROWSE HOW-TO’S

Q&A FORUM

MAKE OR OFFER A REQUEST TO THE COMMUNITY

Music A prominent issue raised by this group is the rapid turnover of arts and culture organizations whose sustainability is increasingly difficult to ensure in neighborhoods witnessing gentrification and redevelopment. This issue was raised about real estate more generally, extending to housing and community spaces such as churches. In comparison to other cities like New York and Los Angeles, artists feel that Chicago places less importance on maintaining lasting cultural organizations and provides artists with fewer resources to thrive in their practice. Ideas of communal ownership of real estate and land surfaced while participants envisioned a mutual aid network. Requests were also made for greater support in marketing and funding individual artists. Marketing is perceived as an important means by which Chicago

“We need marketing to up…not only our value, but our perception [of] what it is that we do, where we get to shape our picture.” artists can gain larger audiences and as a result be able to sustain themselves through their artistic practice. Funding other facets of artists’ work is equally important, including stipends that cover all stages of an artistic project, from ideation to rehearsal to performance.

CAMP ANNUAL REPORT 2021

Writing and Poetry This group conversation centered around using storytelling to document and archive the cultural legacies of Chicago neighborhoods. Emphasis was placed on reaching out to youth and creating incentives for them to engage in storytelling activities and games. One participant shared experiences of finding private funders to sponsor youth participation in storytelling workshops. Participants also stressed the importance of intergenerational communication as a means to document neighborhood and community histories. The need for community demographics to be reflected in project leadership positions was discussed, as well as rigorous engagement in outreach to connect and build with community members. Participants emphasized the importance of spaces such as parks, libraries, and schools for community gathering. This group also pointed out that informal mutual aid

networks already exist as community members take care of one another and provide each other with resources, but emphasized that these networks could be better supported through funding.

“You have all these youth programs that are a bunch of kids learning how to document, create podcasts… Again, it’s the containers… Who do you have as an elder that can take on a “mentee” and help them take on this information so they could present it?”

Visual Arts

CAMP ANNUAL REPORT 2021

Participants in the Visual Arts group described a lack of representation of ALAANA and BIPOC artists in a majority of the city’s arts organizations, extending from commissioned artists and cultural laborers to board members and organization leaders. Alongside institutional racism, certain group members also reported experiences of interpersonal racism. Artists described having to rely on institutions for funding and showcasing their work that they would otherwise disengage from due to accountability issues around racism and worker’s rights. They voiced a related interest in the creation of community funds independent of existing institutions that would support their work as artists, as well as investing in existing alternative community arts spaces in low income neighborhoods, such as the South Side Community Arts Center. This group also encouraged the use of CAMP tools to uplift and highlight ALAANA and BIPOC artists, as well as the grassroots organizations that represent them. We heard suggestions for increased accessibility to the tool, including simplifying the navigation of the map, and testing interactivity on several user groups. Social Practice Artists and Community Organizations As well as seeking sustainable business models for arts organizations and intergenerational mentorship, participants in this group emphasized the importance of art as a community service. We heard stories about using art as a means to heal divisions within communities and help youth overcome traumas.

CASE STUDY: How can community juries be created to foster and build neighborly connections?

CREATE A STIPEND TO COMPENSATE FOR JURORS’ LABOR AND TIME. THIS WILL ENSURE JURORS FEEL RESPECTED AND INVESTED.

HOST A LOTTERY EVENT SO VOLUNTEER JURORS HAVE AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY TO BE CHOSEN AS PART OF THE COMMITTEE.

ENSURE JURORS AND ARTISTS ARE OF DIFFERENT AGES TO ENCOURAGE INTERGENERATIONAL LEARNING AND CONNECTION.

CREATE AN ACTIVITY FOR JURORS TO GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER: A NEIGHBORHOOD WALK? AN ART SHARING SESSION?

ALLOWING JURORS FROM DIFFERENT NEIGHBORHOODS TO WORK TOGETHER MAY FOSTER CONNECTION AND HEALING.

Participants encouraged the engagement of communities through arts programming in a meaningful way, including the creation of neighborhood juries for the allocation of grant money and distribution of arts opportunities. Relatedly, the strength of Chicago’s collectivism in art practice was praised as being unrivaled by any other city, although the lack of financial support backing this energy was emphasized. Interpersonal racism was again mentioned as an obstacle to artistic production, at times experienced at the hands of aldermen.

CAMP ANNUAL REPORT 2021

Immigrant Artists This group expressed an interest in gaining access to informative resources to help immigrant artists better navigate their daily life in a new environment. Participants encouraged the development of CAMP tools to include job postings, advice on applying for artist’s visas and getting access to basic needs such as healthcare, and a social network where immigrant artists can meet and support each other. Access to grants is particularly difficult for undocumented artists as most grants require legal immigration status. Fees related to maintaining immigration status create an additional burden on these artists. Suggestions were made to create unconditional grants for artists without a valid immigration status, and generate funds to help with access to legal services. Urbanists and Designers As small-scale collectives engaged in urban planning and design, participants in this group were heavily invested in forging connections with communities. We learned of previous difficulties

that some of the participants had in connecting with communities and other organizations in the field. The CAMP tool was seen as a possible outlet for fostering collaboration with community members in specific neighborhoods, as well as fellow professionals. Participants expressed an interest in enabling neighborhoods to become self-sustainable, and using design to create economic and social opportunities for community members. Additionally, they were interested in partaking in policy work, suggesting models whereby community members, planners, and policy makers can approach projects holistically.

CASE STUDY: How does a zero interest community credit union work? 'Asue' or 'Susu' is a community saving method originating from Africa and practiced by members of the diaspora. Participants regularly contibute money to a community fund and take turns receiving sums of pooled money in return. The system builds trust between participants and

contributes to healthy savings practices. The example below illustrates how such a system might work if ten participants contribute $100 each monthly (for a total of $1000) supplemented by a public grant of $5000 given as a lump sum at the fund's initiation. The starting date is January 2022.

JANUARY 2022

FEBRUARY 2022

MARCH 2022

APRIL 2022

MAY 2022

TOTAL FUNDS: $6K PARTICIPANT 'A' COLLECTS $1K

TOTAL FUNDS: $6K PARTICIPANT 'B' COLLECTS $1K

TOTAL FUNDS: $6K PARTICIPANT 'D' FALLS ILL AND NEEDS MONEY. THEY COLLECT $2K.

TOTAL FUNDS: $5K PARTICIPANT 'C' COLLECTS $1K. PARTICIPANT 'D' PAYS $200 MONTHLY INSTEAD OF $100 FOR THE NEXT 10 MONTHS.

TOTAL FUNDS: $5.1K PARTICIPANT 'E' COLLECTS $1K

CAMP ANNUAL REPORT 2021

Networks and Platforms This group focused on disrupting institutional hierarchies and healing community divisions through mutual aid networks. A circular model of organization was envisioned, whereby members of the networks would share power and responsibility equally. Non-monetary modes of interaction and exchange were explored, including time banking, skill and knowledge sharing, and mutual food provision. Participants envisioned the extension of the mutual aid network to include credit unions for artists, as well as zero interest community funds for healthcare.

CONCLUSION

The Cultual Asset Mapping Project has provided us with an invaluable opportunity to learn from artists, cultural workers, and community members. We hope to not only represent the voices of Chicago makers through our work, but also to build upon their wants, needs, and ideations. The following conclusions and recommendations guide us in our next steps to achieving a more equitable Chicago in which arts and culture play a central role.

CAMP ANNUAL REPORT 2021

Conclusions: 1. The outreach work we have done to supplement CAMP tools has been important for ensuring user engagement, and more specifically for understanding the wants and needs of ALAANA and BIPOC artists in the city. Interpersonal connection and communication are vital to fostering relations with artists, and making sure underrepresented communities find the support they need within the arts industry. 2. CAMP tools are perceived by users as mediating collaboration, connection, and community outreach related to arts and culture. They are also considered a valuable tool for documenting and archiving the arts and culture scene in Chicago.

3. A multi-media approach is necessary to reach different segments of Chicago communities. The Covid-19 pandemic has forced us to rely on online engagement, but this may be at the expense of accessibility to users who are unable to engage with virtual tools. Simplifying user interactivity is one approach to resolving this issue. As Chicago re-opens, we also hope to engage audiences with more in-person resources. 4. Our awareness of the variety of cultural work being done across Chicago neighborhoods confirms our conviction that support for arts and culture on the city-wide level should be diversified, paying special attention to lower-income areas in the South and West Sides. This entails a commitment to engaging with communities in a considered way, listening to them and learning from them. 5. ALAANA and BIPOC persons, many of whom are from historically disinvested communities, form a significant portion of arts and culture laborers in Chicago. Special support for these groups is important to fostering continuity to Chicago’s vibrant cultural scene, and achieving equity goals in the arts and culture sector. Recommendations:

CAMP ANNUAL REPORT 2021

1. Funding ALAANA and BIPOC artists, especially those from disinvested communities, is necessary to help them flourish. We encourage the creation of stipends that span the range of entire projects from conception to completion, and grants with simplified application processes that are unconditional upon immigration status. Community juries might be created as part of the funding process, and serve as a means to economically empower community members and ensure greater egalitarianism in the judgement of artworks. More generally, funds can be directed towards ensuring artists have a living wage within their chosen practice, and sustaining cultural organizations that struggle against increasing gentrification and precarity. 2. Investing in spaces specifically designed for use by artists and culture workers is a necessary means of empowering art production. Such public assets alleviate rent costs while ensuring connections between artists and communities, and facilitate intergenerational sharing of art practices. Spaces should be built for specific uses and in consult with users,

equipped to account for the safety and needs of artists in several fields. Accessibility issues ought to be considered in this schema, including accommodations for differently abled individuals, ease of access through public transportation methods, and free entry and facility usage. When investing in new public spaces, care ought to be exercised to ensure that surrounding property prices do not increase and gentrification is kept at bay. 3. Supporting and programming community building projects and cultural initiatives is vital to sustaining Chicago’s cultural landscape. Public programming is a means by which to foster connections between artists and community members, and activate public resources such as parks, schools, libraries, and neighborhood community gathering spaces. Such programming should empower artists and community members through providing paid opportunities that strive towards community building. 4. Professional development resources are a necessary means to help artists build their careers. These can be virtual tools or resource centers staffed by local community leaders. Examples of resources include providing help with writing grant applications, advising on industry standards for wages and tax filing, and providing resources for meeting basic needs such as legal advice, healthcare, and childcare services.

CAMP ANNUAL REPORT 2021

5. Providing artists and cultural workers with access to social services is particularly important, given that a large number of them work part-time or gig economy jobs that don’t provide social benefits. It is vital to develop a corrective to this issue by making social services such as healthcare, childcare, and mental wellness more accessible. Public funds for gig workers might be created to answer to this problem, or institutions might pool together and aggregate part-time employment opportunities into full-time positions, thus making workers eligible for benefits even as they hold several part-time positions in different institutions. 6. Park usage rules ought to be standardized and centralized under the Chicago Park District, facilitating use for artists and community members. Information regarding park usage should be made easily accessible, including what facilities are available at each park, what the process is for artists interested in putting together public programs, and what costs or grant

monies are available for projects involving the parks. Interaction with the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events ought also to be facilitated by creating satellite offices in several neighborhoods. This forges a deeper connection between DCASE officers and community members, and allows for a hands-on understanding of the wants and needs of culture workers and organizations living in particular neighborhoods. 7. Supporting artists and culture workers to sustain and build mutual aid networks alleviates some of the difficulties faced by community members and fosters an atmosphere of collective care. Many formal and informal mutual aid networks already exist in Chicago, by virtue of community members needing and wanting to care for each other. Mutual aid initiatives can be supported through provision of public funding, enabling network expansion and connection, and the creation of virtual and physical resources for communities to post needs and offerings. We urge the continuation of visioning, diagramming, and prototyping practices as a means by which to come up with creative solutions for the wants and needs of communities. 8. CAMP tools can be used as a means to connect artists and communities, foster collaboration, and develop a mutual aid network. Efforts should be made to continue populating the two surveys with users and stories from different neighborhoods, and to ensure that city demographics are adequately represented.

CAMP ANNUAL REPORT 2021

Our approach in engaging artists and community members has been a necessary means to understanding the wants and needs of Chicagoans in a variety of neighborhoods, and a step towards developing a better and more equitable cultural landscape. We will build on this grassroots approach in our public programming initiatives, centering artists and cultural workers and working alongside them to create, problem solve, and envision better futures. We are thankful to the many bright and dedicated artists who have helped support this project, as well as the initiatives that continue to work towards a more equitable culture industry. As we continue to expand upon the work of both CAMP and Re:Center projects, we intend to implement many of the above outlined recommendations. Our hope is that these recommendations will also be reflected in other public and private sector initiatives whose aim is to support artists and creatives and uplift Chicago culture.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thank you to the artists and culture workers who participated in the ALAANA/BIPOC Focus Groups. The Chicago Park District’s Arts & Culture Unit (ACU) envisions parks and cultural centers as vital spaces that encourage all Chicagoans to explore the arts and their power to enhance quality of life, neighborhood development, and community dialogue. In a cultural resources portfolio including arts partnerships, community arts programming, and youth arts programs for all ages, ACU strives to increase and maintain quality cultural offerings and experiences for all Chicago’s communities. ARTS & CULTURE MANAGER Meida McNeal CULTURAL PARTNERSHIPS TEAM - ACU Patsy Diaz, Program and Event Facilitator Jacquelyn Guerrero, Program & Event Coordinator (Cultural Liaison) Nikki Jolly, Senior Program Specialist Latham Zearfoss, Program & Event Coordinator (Cultural Liaison) CAMP TOOLS DEVELOPMENT Paola Aguirre - Borderless Studio/Planning + Design CAMP DATA EVALUATION CONSULTANT & DESIGNER Sara Sukhun CAMP OUTREACH COORDINATOR Craig Stevenson CAMP 2020 ARTIST COHORT Eric Hotchkiss and Sydney Lynne, Austin Josue Esau and Miranda Gonzalez, Humboldt Park Rashada Dawan and Margaret M. Morris, South Shore & Woodlawn Sojourner Zenobia and Tamara Becerra Valdez, North Lawndale Epifanio Monarrez and Jen Delos Reyes, Little Village Chris Saint Martin, Roseland, Pullman, Chatham + Chesterfield Anders Zanichkowsky, Edgewater + Rogers Park Yaritza Guillen, Chicago Lawn + West Lawn Special thanks to Adia Sykes. CAMP is part of a larger initiative led by the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) and the League of Chicago Theatres with additional support from Enrich Chicago to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the performing arts and related cultural forms on the South Side and West Side of Chicago.