Using Arts and Culture to Spark Narrative Change

For many, art is a form of entertainment. For others, it also serves to inform audiences on society’s biggest issues, challenge harmful narratives, and inspire action. Afghani street artist Shamsia Hassani once said, “Art changes people’s minds and people change the world.”  

After a five-year hiatus, The Chicago Community Trust’s Collective Power team relaunched an arts and culture grant portfolio, awarding $885,000 to 12 organizations in August 2024. The grant dollars came from restricted funds at the Trust. 

The purpose of the grantmaking was to support art projects and initiatives that work to shift harmful narratives and counteract preconceived notions that perpetuate inequities – one of the main pillars of the Collective Power strategy. In addition, the grantmaking went to organizations providing economic support to artists.  

“Art is part of Chicago – in museums, driving along viaducts, walking down the street. So, how do we uplift artists conveying important messages through our grantmaking? And how can we stimulate economic growth and development for the arts community?”  

Iona Calhoun-Battiste
Senior Director of Collective Power
The Chicago Community Trust

For three grant recipients under this portfolio, Trust support is enabling them to leverage art to combat negative stereotypes about Chicago, teach children about diverse cultural experiences, and strengthen financial support for artists.  

Gertie  

Gertie is a civic and cultural organization that connects people and helps them learn more about the creative community through events and digital storytelling. They focus on celebrating the city’s arts and culture, creating big initiatives and special moments that showcase what the city has to offer. The aim is to draw in more investment and support for the creative scene. 

When Chicago hosted the Democratic National Convention in 2024, Gertie recognized the need to push back against negative perceptions about the city and uplift its people and communities. During and leading up to the week of the DNC, it showcased Next Stop: Chicago, a series of art activations created by community-based organizations that drew attention to infrastructure inequities, while also demonstrating how art can catalyze more investment.   

“There is repeated evidence in media that describe Chicago as violent and singular, so through Next Stop: Chicago, we hope to counter the existing narrative,” said Cortlyn Kelly, the project lead. 

Trust grant support bolstered marketing efforts and other costs related to the initiative.  

DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center 

The DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center, formerly the DuSable Museum of African American History, is a Chicago-based cultural institution dedicated to the study and conservation of Black history, art and culture. Founded in 1961, it is the oldest independent Black museum in the United States. 

In January 2024, DuSable launched “The Many Colors of Us,” an interactive exhibition that exposes children ages 3-10 to diverse cultures and different racial and ethnic experiences. Through hands-on learning, children explore topics like hair and food and even get the opportunity to make their own self-portraits that are displayed in the exhibition. Created in partnership with the Dolores Kohl Educational Foundation, “The Many Colors of Us” was meant to counteract harmful narratives about race and racism, which research shows children start internalizing as early as age five.  

“The importance of our work can be seen on the news and on our smartphones every single day, especially the fight for educating people on Black history,” said Perri Irmer, DuSable’s president and CEO. “It’s really critical for kids and even teachers to have this type of interactive experience.”  

Trust support helps DuSable maintain “The Many Colors of Us.” The grant also aided in the creation of a digital catalog of the museum’s archives, which will enable staff to source and reference museum collections more efficiently. 

Urban Gateways 

For more than 60 years, Urban Gateways has been providing youth with opportunities to engage in the arts both to inspire creativity and bring about social change. The organization offers programming taught by professional artists and features a variety of disciplines such as dance, theater, literary, and multimedia, annually serving roughly 80,000 program participants.  

Because arts have been historically underfunded in K-12 education, Urban Gateways often works with schools that do not have access to art staff or departments, including 80 Chicago Public Schools. According to CEO Leslé Honoré, giving children the chance to create art is a form of narrative change because it shows them that their voices do matter.  

To enhance these learning experiences for students, Honoré says the organization frequently hires teaching artists from the same communities and works to ensure these artists are paid fair wages. “Our work is really about the ecosystem of arts education — we are not just supporting students, but also the teaching artists who serve as a bridge to the communities we want to reach,” she said. “Art is their livelihood, and we want them to know their work is valuable.”  

Urban Gateways is using the Trust grant to hire more contracted teaching artists and invest in their professional development. The funding will also help expand programming, increase staffing capacity, and offset the costs of free arts events intended to target underserved communities.  

Engaging Donors 

According to Calhoun-Battiste, a growing demand from some donors was another impetus for bringing back arts and culture grantmaking to the Trust. Even without a Trust-directed grant program, arts and culture remains a popular philanthropic issue area. In 2023, Trust donors gave $74.4 million in grants from their donor advised funds.  

Calhoun-Battiste said that in some conversations she’s had with donors, they expressed a desire to be connected to the Trust through arts and culture programs. In the future, she sees ample opportunity to invite donors to participate in Trust strategic priorities through this portfolio. She added, “Taking donor interest into consideration and ensuring their intent with how use these restricted funds, we are going to be able to support innovative and exciting ideas.”