Ten Chicago nonprofit organizations received $2.92 million in multiyear general operating grants through MacArthur’s new Culture, Equity, and the Arts (CEA) program. The program aims to overcome longstanding challenges in Chicago, including racial segregation and inequitable access to artistic and cultural experiences for historically underrepresented groups. Grant recipients include arts and cultural institutions as well as arts-centered organizations, in which the arts are integral to executing the mission but are not the entity’s primary stated activity.
Organizations that Received CEA Grants
Broader Urban Involvement & Leadership Development—an art-centered youth development organization that provides young people on the city’s West Side with leadership opportunities, positive out-of-school activities, clinical counseling, and mentoring will receive $375,000 over five years.
Chicago Botanic Garden—a 385-acre public garden, which conducts research, education, and conservation programs and operates several urban gardens, including the Farm on Ogden in North Lawndale, will receive $150,000 over three years.
Chicago Children's Choir—a multiracial, multicultural choral music organization for children aged eight to 18, founded in 1956 in the context of the Civil Rights Movement, will receive $375,000 over five years.
Chicago Shakespeare Theater—a theater company that presents the plays of William Shakespeare, stages theatrical productions by playwrights other than Shakespeare, and conducts education and outreach programs will receive $150,000 over three years.
Chicago Sinfonietta—a professional orchestra that presents symphonic performances; commissions new work; provides mentoring programs for young musicians, conductors, and administrators of color; and facilitates music education through its programs with Chicago Public Schools will receive $375,000 over five years.
Enrich Chicago—a collaboration among arts organizations and foundations to promote greater racial equity in Chicago’s arts and culture sector will receive $375,000 over five years.
Joffrey Ballet of Chicago—a ballet company whose main company performs classical and contemporary dance in Chicago, nationally, and worldwide; operates the Academy of Dance, which serves aspiring dancers of all ages; and runs Community Engagement programs that reach youth in Chicago neighborhoods and schools will receive $150,000 over three years.
Little Black Pearl Workshop—an arts and education facility serving the Bronzeville, Hyde Park, Kenwood, Oakland, and Woodlawn neighborhoods will receive $375,000 over five years.
Urban Gateways—a center that engages young people in arts experiences to inspire creativity and impact social change will receive $375,000 over five years.
Victory Gardens Theater—a theater company that performs new works, develops a culturally diverse community of theater artists, conducts education and outreach programs, and provides opportunities for community engagement will receive $225,000 over three years.
