To support the exhibition Dear Mazie at the Institute for Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University. The project explores the life and work of groundbreaking architect, educator, and artist Amaza Lee Meredith (1895–1984). A fully illustrated publication accompanies the exhibition.
To support Pilsen Days: Photographs by Akito Tsuda (June–December 2024), an exhibition that makes visible the photograph collection of works by Japanese photographer Akito Tsuda, who documented Chicago’s Mexican American Pilsen neighborhood in the early 1990s while attending art school at Columbia College. It also explores the relationships between photographer and subjects over time. The project is part of the Terra Foundation initiative Art Design Chicago.
To support Persistence: The Lions’ Roar in the Puerto Rican Arts (Persistencia: El Rugir de los Leones en la Plástica Puertorriqueña) (June–November 2024), an exhibition featuring works by 21 Puerto Rican artists living in Chicago that examines the impact of colonial trends on the Puerto Rican arts and the correlated relationship with the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. The project is part of the Terra Foundation initiative Art Design Chicago.
To support Still Here: Linking Histories of Displacement (May–December 2024), an exhibition that explores the histories of displacement of Indigenous people and African American families from the land where the National Public Housing Museum is located; and includes art, artifacts, and public dialogues. The project is informing the development of the National Public Housing Museum’s land acknowledgment and has inspires a resource handbook for museum practitioners. The project is part of the Terra Foundation initiative Art Design Chicago.
To support Theaster Gates: When Clouds Roll Away: Reflection and Restoration from the Johnson Archive (May–August 2024). This installation created by Theaster Gates features a variety of materials and objects from the Chicago-based Johnson Publishing Company’s archive and collection, which Gates has stewarded over the last nine years. Through this exhibition, the Stony Island Arts Bank becomes a temporary portal for public memory and new conceptual questions, and the archive serves as a launching pad for new artistic production. The project is part of the Terra Foundation initiative Art Design Chicago.
To support Chicago Designs for Change (May 2024–June 2025), an exhibition that highlights Chicagoans of the 1960s–70s who created art as a catalyst for social change alongside contemporary artists who make art that addresses social issues including immigration, mass incarceration, and environmental justice. The grant supports an engagement fellow, who oversees community engagement and relationship-building activities and implements public and educational programs. The project is part of the Terra Foundation initiative Art Design Chicago.
To support Seen and Unseen: South Asian American Art in Chicago (May–September 2024), a project that includes two parallel exhibitions featuring South Asian American artists in Chicago: An archival exhibition of 25+ years of under-documented exhibition history along with an exhibition of contemporary art by Chicago-based South Asian American artists. The project is part of the Terra Foundation initiative Art Design Chicago.
To support Opening Passages: Artists Respond to Chicago and Paris (April–July 2024), a multi-site photographic exhibition in Chicago that features recent bodies of work by ten artists who engage the dynamic social landscapes of either Chicago or Paris, staging a cross-cultural reflection on contemporary life in two global cities. The project is part of the Terra Foundation initiative Art Design Chicago.
To support Victoria Martinez: Braiding Histories (March–July 2024), a one-person exhibition that features the art of Chicago-based creative Victoria Martinez, who works in a variety of materials and scales, drawing inspiration from the body, the urban environment, architecture, graffiti, and the work of Chicago-based fiber artist Claire Zeisler. The grant supports an engagement fellow, who collaborates with the artist and curatorial team to create equitable and diverse forms of public engagement. The project is part of the Terra Foundation initiative Art Design Chicago.
To support 130 Años: México in the Chicago Columbian Exposition (working title) (April–August 2024), an exhibition that examines the 1893 World’s Fair as a platform for expressions of cultural identity and delves into the similar objectives of many Chicago and Mexican artists. The exhibition features 19th-century works of art from both countries by some of the leading artists who participated in the fair, along with contemporary artwork by Chicago-based artists born in Mexico, whose art reflects their transnational experiences. The grant supports an engagement fellow, who plans and develops hands-on engagement activities. The project is part of the Terra Foundation initiative Art Design Chicago.
To support A Love Supreme (January–April 2024), an exhibition in which designer Norman Teague responds to jazz musician John Coltrane as muse, providing parallels to Teague’s own life and artistic career. An adjoining installation curated by Teague in the museum’s Mies van der Rohe’s McCormick House features the work of other designers of color. The project is part of the Terra Foundation initiative Art Design Chicago.
To support All Power to the People: Elizabeth Catlett’s Legacy in Chicago (June–August 2024), an exhibition that highlights the printmaking practice and impact of artist and activist Elizabeth Catlett (1915–2012) and considers her work alongside works by contemporary Black women printmakers from Chicago’s South Side who are building on Catlett’s political and aesthetic precedents. The project is part of the Terra Foundation initiative Art Design Chicago.
