At Bustling Spaces we’re committed to supporting artists, community groups, and creative businesses in historically disinvested communities to manifest their visions, access new resources, and tell their stories.
For the first time and in this giving season, we will be launching our collective fundraising campaign, Nov. 26 - Dec. 26, and we need your help to ensure our artistic community continues to thrive, especially now. This year, we’re amplifying 10 incredible arts and social justice organizations that are making powerful change across Chicago
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In 2021 the church collaborated with its neighbors in Woodlawn to reimagine its campus as an accessible cultural hub for a community facing displacement through gentrification. Through this, Arts at First Church was born. This initiative emerged from a simple belief: sacred spaces are places that belong to their community, and where all in the community may come to find belonging They are living spaces intended for the resilience and flourishing of their communities. Through exhibitions, performances, open studios, and workshops, Arts at First invites people from all walks of life to experience art as an exercise in world-building. Our programming is inclusive, intergenerational, and interdisciplinary, reflecting Chicago’s diversity and responding to its evolving cultural landscape.
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Cabrini Art House is a community-led cultural hub founded by Dr. Cher’Don Reynolds and Marques “Merk” Elliston to honor the resilience and legacy of Cabrini-Green. Rooted in the restoration of William Walker’s iconic “For All Mankind” mural, the Art House builds creative infrastructure with and for former and current residents.
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We are patrons and protectors of Black Art.
Our mission is to collect, promote and preserve art from the African Diaspora by encouraging individuals and institutions to appreciate and acquire this art.
For over 20 years, we’ve been galvanizing art lovers and expanding the appreciation of our visual arts culture—and the contemporary Black artists who create it—through workshops, seminars, tours and special events.
We will continue to collect, promote and preserve art from the African Diaspora by inspiring individual collectors and institutions to embrace this extraordinary art form through establishing the Diasporal Rhythms African American Collectors Institute.
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Located at 4339 South Lake Park Avenue, this historic Chicago Landmark was once the home of McKinley Morganfield—better known as Muddy Waters, the legendary father of modern Chicago blues. It was the first house he ever purchased, and when he moved to Chicago from the South, it quickly became more than just a residence—it was a sanctuary and a creative hub. The home soon transformed into a vibrant gathering place for Muddy and fellow blues musicians, where impromptu jam sessions in the basement gave birth to the electrified Chicago blues sound that continues to influence music today.
The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places by the National Park Service and is a proud member of the African American Civil Rights Network, recognized for its vital role in African American history and the cultural impact of the Great Migration.
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Blondena’s HEIRS supports African American families through every stage of property inheritance and legacy planning through community conversations, mediation, storytelling, education, and advocacy. HEIRS stands for Heritage, Equity, Inheritance, and Resources for Sustainability.
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ChiBrations is an artist-led media platform designed to celebrate and centralize performing artists of Greater Chicago. We prioritize communities of color and partner with creatives of all types. Our mission is to leverage technology to inspire collaboration, and explore socio-economic and creative solutions for our collective self.
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ISPro Academy trains aspiring artists, producers, and engineers in music production, audio engineering, and the music business. Led by Marlon King and Bryan Sykes, it provides hands-on education, industry mentorship, and career opportunities to empower BIPOC creatives in Chicago's music industry. As we expand our program to the public with our IS Pro Academy mobile program currently in development, we seek to develop the next generation of successful producers, engineers, and artists.
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What began as the Black Metropolis Project in 2004 with a 25 Member Steering Committee of cultural historians and community preservationists has stayed the course to secure the Congressional designation for the National Heritage Area.
Stretching from Chicago's South Loop to Woodlawn (18th Street to the north, 71st street to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, and Canal Street to the west), the Bronzeville-Black Metropolis National Heritage Area contains assets that convey the story of the Great Migration and Civil Rights Movement both locally and nationally. Namely, the Bronzeville Historic District, a Chicago Landmark District designated in 1998, consists of eight historic buildings and a monument. These historic buildings have been preserved by preservationists over a period of more than 20 years.
Bronzeville will continue to emphasize preservation, education, outreach, and conservation, and accessibility in order to teach the next generation about its community history, while also building up the community through economic development and tourism.
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The Coalition of Black House Museums is an Urban Historic Preservation Advocacy Group that works to prevent the destruction of real estate and the extinction of events, actions and lives that are important to underserved communities around the United States.
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LMRM (“loom room”) is a project space fostering opportunities for art-making, research, and community programming around digital weaving. Based in Chicago, LMRM is currently one of few places in the world offering public access to a TC2 digital jacquard loom and the only one in the U.S. with an open studio model: no residency application, and no university enrollment.