Imagine Just, a program of Enrich Chicago, has announced the first recipients of its Community-Advised Fund, a new grant and system of funding aimed at removing barriers to entry for artists, organizations and collectives often overlooked and unrecognized by traditional philanthropy. Enrich Chicago is a collaborative of over 50 Chicagoland arts and philanthropic organizations committed to ending racism and systemic oppression in the arts sector. “We can’t break philanthropy, but we can at least bend it,” said Nina Sanchez, Enrich Chicago Co-Director. “Our Community-Advised Fund challenges the traditional philanthropic model, which decides whether work merits an investment, with a panel of peers that reflects the community. This is a resource that aims to provide financial and community support to organizations that are historically overlooked for mainstream investment.”
Seven organizations/collectives received $5,000 grants and, as part of the Community-Advised Fund, will join the Just Praxis Circle, a collectively led peer space for community care, accountability and healing for BIPOC culture workers and artists. The Just Praxis Circle will meet monthly for one year and culminate in a community celebration of learning. The Imagine Just Community of Practice is a collectively-led initiative and diverse coalition of artists, cultural producers, and creatives. The project is stewarded by Enrich Chicago and held in ownership with the community. In 2021, Imagine Just released actionable strategies for an anti-racist, anti-oppressive arts and culture sector that centers the voices of artists of color.
Imagine Just Community-Advised Fund Grant Recipients:
ChiResists
ChiResists is a collective that offers frontline support, mutual aid, educational programming, cultural events and creative spaces to low resource communities in Chicago. Founded seven years ago, ChiResists supports muralists, performers, printmakers and writers through cultural events, open mics and mutual aid programs. The organization serves Pilsen, Little Village, Humboldt Park and North Lawndale.
Gage Park Latinx Council
Gage Park Latinx Council is a queer, DACA and Latinx-led grassroots organization based on Chicago’s Southwest Side that is committed to creating a strong sense of community and identity through art, radical education, and direct actions grounded in social justice and mutual aid. GPLXC was founded in 2018.
Haitian American Museum of Chicago
HAMOC’s programs are dedicated to informing the public about the historical injustices suffered by the Haitian people throughout the country’s history. Formed in 2012, the organization is changing negative perceptions and bringing healing to the community and society while promoting and preserving Haitian art, culture, history and community in Chicago and beyond. The organization serves Uptown, Bronzeville and North Lawndale.
Hearing in Color
Hearing in Color is dedicated to sharing historically excluded music, stories and composers with the BIPOC, Edgewater and Austin communities to present stories grounded in truth. Their productions underscore the work of artists who are overlooked in mediums where White-centered experiences are the default. Hearing in Color believes in the power of music to build community, bring comfort, embolden, and inspire in the face of subjugation and oppression.
The Honeycomb Network
The Honeycomb centers BIPOC equity, leadership, creatives, and cross-community and cultural building in a reciprocal, generative and authentic way. Founded in 2020, the organization is a multi-functional community space offering holistic co-working, co-creating + collective care. They primarily serve Humboldt Park and the West Side.
SXII Studios
Since 2014, SXII Studios has served Chicago’s South Side focused on cultivating erotic intelligence for queer Chicago through arts programming, multimedia, dialogical education, healing and by creating more spaces of liberation.
UrbanTheater Company
As a platform for multicultural representation in the arena of performance and story-telling, UTC aims to preserve the Puerto Rican and Humboldt Park community voice and celebrate cultural experiences through interdisciplinary art forms. The theater was founded in 2005 by and for people of color.
Photo Credit: Imagine Just
