In Partnership With the MacArthur Foundation

“Equiticity is thrilled to share a $50,000 grant award supporting our efforts towards the One Lawndale Movement Plaza, and we are honored to participate in one dedicated component of the broader Plaza vision by highlighting the vacant lots that have been set aside for The Go Hub just south of the Pulaski (Pink Line) Station at 21st and Pulaski. In partnership with One Lawndale Arts & Activism Incubator, Open Center for the Arts, Boxing Out Negativity, and Firehouse Center for the Arts, this investment will help transform an underutilized, transit-adjacent space into a vibrant public plaza that advances Elevated Chicago’s Arts and Culture Strategy by placing arts, culture, and mobility equity in a highly visible community space. Our contribution is designed to help neighbors see the bigger story taking shape in real time by connecting place-based art and community activation to the future home of The Go Hub and to the urgent work of transit advocacy, because equitable transportation is a lifeline to jobs, school, healthcare, and everyday freedom. Centered on youth leadership, the project will support youth-led design workshops and artivism programming where young people from Lawndale and Little Village co-create storytelling installations and cultural activations that honor neighborhood history while strengthening solidarity and belonging. Most importantly, this activation is only one of many initiatives that will sprout across the larger Lawndale neighborhood.”

Love Is On the (Green) Line will use a wide range of artistic mediums—dance, music, painting, journalism, and digital archiving—to transform public spaces into canvases for love stories. Strategic activations will take place at the Green Line station, Alt-Space Community Center, Kehrein Center for the Arts Foundation, Aspire Center, and along the Central Avenue corridor from Lake Street to Madison. Together, these efforts will cultivate walkability, intergenerational participation, and deep engagement from legacy residents.

The OH Art Foundation is a Chicago-based nonprofit dedicated to strengthening communities through accessible art education, exhibitions, and cultural programming. Grounded in the belief that art is a powerful tool for connection, dialogue, and understanding, OH Art Foundation works to uplift diverse voices and foster a more inclusive and equitable society.

Through this grant, OH Art Foundation will lead three month-long cultural heritage celebrations designed to amplify the histories, traditions, and creative contributions of distinct communities. In collaboration with Zhou B. Gallery, local artists, small businesses, and community arts organizations, the project will transform the Morgan Street commercial corridor in Bridgeport into a vibrant hub of cultural expression and economic activity.

Each celebration will feature:

• Curated exhibitions highlighting culturally rooted artists
• Pop-up activations in storefronts and publicly accessible spaces
• Family-friendly art workshops and hands-on programming
• Intergenerational learning opportunities
• Live performances and community gatherings

By activating storefronts and shared public spaces along Morgan Street, the project will elevate local cultural assets, deepen relationships among residents and businesses, and generate meaningful economic opportunities for artists and small enterprises.

Through creative placemaking and community collaboration, this initiative positions art as both a cultural bridge and an economic catalyst—strengthening neighborhood identity while fostering cross-cultural understanding and shared belonging.

The Puerto Rican Cultural Corridor: Murals, Music & Marketplaces is a community-driven placekeeping initiative led by the Puerto Rican Arts Alliance (PRAA) to preserve cultural identity, expand economic opportunity, and activate public spaces near CTA transit stations in Avondale, Logan Square, and Humboldt Park. Through artist- and community-centered co-design, the project will commission Puerto Rican-themed sculptures and cultural installations, host Cultural Market pop-ups featuring live music and artisan vendors, and integrate digital storytelling tools that share oral histories, youth performances, and artist narratives through public art.

Together, these activities will create visible cultural anchors, generate meaningful exposure and paid opportunities for artists and small businesses, and transform transit-connected corridors into vibrant hubs of cultural expression, economic activity, and community belonging. By embedding arts and culture directly into the built environment, the project advances Elevated Chicago’s vision for equitable transit-oriented development and demonstrates how cultural placekeeping can strengthen neighborhood identity, connectivity, and long-term resilience.

Quad Communities Development Corporation (QCDC) works to convene residents, businesses, organizations, and institutions to guide community development efforts and build a sustainable, healthy, mixed-income neighborhood within the Quad Communities.

Through this grant, QCDC will implement the Bronzeville Commercial Corridors Public Art Initiative, a collaborative effort to revitalize 43rd and 47th Streets. In partnership with community stakeholders, the initiative will plan, design, and install up to ten public art pieces, along with infrastructure to support rotating installations and cultural activations.

By transforming underutilized spaces into vibrant cultural focal points, the project will amplify Bronzeville’s rich history, strengthen community partnerships, and increase positive activity and foot traffic along both corridors—positioning art as a driver of neighborhood pride and economic vitality.

Root2Fruit will advance development of the Austin Artisan Market, a vacant site that will provide permanent market space for local entrepreneurs and artists, and host community and youth programming. Site activation, including ongoing community engagement and youth-led co-design of market and programming, and installation of a sculpture, will build momentum and cohesion around the project and engage the community in shaping their built environment while also amplifying and protecting community culture and creating economic opportunities for local entrepreneurs and artists.

Southeast Chicago Chamber will recreate the Black and Brown Unity Mural that was demolished due to an accident, in a new parklet on 79th Street adjacent to multiple new developments. The mural was a deeply engaged community-designed process culminating in a community celebration and painting day, creating an important community focal point. This effort will bring this important community experience and asset back to the community while also building community unity, creating a welcoming corridor, and amplifying and protecting community culture and legacy businesses.

Grounded in Bloom is a community wellness initiative that cultivates empowerment, connection, and healing by transforming urban spaces into vibrant environments where art, nature, and holistic wellness intersect. Through gatherings in parks, gardens, and neighborhood spaces, the program creates opportunities for residents to reconnect with themselves, their community, and the natural world.

Each event offers a multi-sensory wellness experience that may include yoga and breathwork, guided meditation, sound baths, herbal education, community gardening, and collaborative art activities such as murals and sip-and-paint sessions. By combining mindfulness practices, creative expression, and nature-based learning, Grounded in Bloom nurtures resilience, encourages community engagement, and supports collective well-being in historically underinvested neighborhoods.