Notes from Chicago

Jane Beachy calls Chicago "the fountain of youth," a city where new ideas are always being born. She would know. As founder of Salonathon, the beloved weekly salon that ran from 2011 to 2018, she gave hundreds of Chicago artists a stage to share things they'd made just for that night, or had been quietly working on for years. Ashley talks with Jane, Senior Director of Public Engagement at Illinois Humanities, about why she chose to end Salonathon at its peak and what it taught her about "the se

This week on Notes from Chicago, we're at the Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance with President & CEO Jennifer Van Valkenburg. Jen breaks down what it actually means to run one of the three largest conservatories in the country, from the 30-year public-private partnership with the Chicago Park District, to the community advisory board and youth council that shape every decision, to why they retired a beloved event (RIP Beer Under Glass) in favor of programming built with, not just for, the neig

Mark Payne has spent his career developing Chicago's next generation of civic leaders, and he learned to do it the same way he learned to love the city: from his family. His father, Jimmy Payne, was a celebrated Afro-Cuban and tap dancer who taught dance in Chicago from 1947 into his 90s; his mother drove the family up and down King Drive telling stories of the Great Migration. That upbringing in Bronzeville, Englewood, and Auburn Gresham shaped Mark into a Public Allies alum himself, and today

Chicago is a city of two truths: deep love and real weight, often in the same breath. In this final mini-episode from our summer archive series, we're revisiting five conversations that capture both sides of the story. Chris Smith makes the case for exploring the South Side beyond Hyde Park. Dr. Mimi Guiracocha shares what it took for a Pilsen community to physically stop ICE from entering their neighborhood. Tony Hatchett tells the origin story of the Chosen Few Picnic, Isis Ferguson points to

What brought you to Chicago, and what has it given you in return? In this mini-episode from our summer archive series, host Ashley Phillips shares her own origin story before revisiting three unforgettable conversations about what this city means to the people who call it home. Hear from cross-stitch artist Emma McKee (aka StitchGawd) on the traumatic visa saga that led her to Chicago and how a Christmas gift for her mom turned into a Chance the Rapper collaboration. Documentary filmmaker Johnn

This summer, we're revisiting some of our favorite conversations. In this episode, we talk about the weight artists and organizers carry, and why they keep carrying it anyway. Photographer Kenn Cook Jr. reflects on capturing the West Side's true story and the West Sider who moved him to tears with her reaction to his work. Muralist-turned-fiber-artist Andy Bellomo opens up about painting through anxiety and postpartum in full public view at the Chicago Cultural Center. Laura Baginski remembers E