Chicago Arts in Sacred Places
Advisory Board
Jennifer Armstrong
Director, Community Arts Development Programs,
Illinois Arts Council
Pastor Erik Christensen
St. Luke’s Lutheran Church of Logan Square
Deb Clapp
Executive Director, Chicago League of Theatres
Joe Antunovich
Antunovich Associates
Ginger Farley
Independent Dancer & Choreographer
Dawn Marie Galtieri
Executive & Artistic Director, Voice of the City
Jackie Samuel
Director, New Communities Program,
Claretian Associates
of which have underutilized space. In the last decade,
the area has become a magnet for Chicago artists, and
as a result, there is no shortage of painters, sculptors,
musicians, actors, and dancers looking for space
in which to work, audition, rehearse, perform, and
exhibit.
creating new ways for the faith and arts communities to
work together to transform the neighborhood.
Initially, our work in South Chicago will focus on
Our Lady of Peace, a Catholic parish and graduate of
Partners’ New Dollars/New Partners training. The parish
campus includes a three-story convent building that is
completely vacant, but up to code. Working with local
artists and arts organizations, Partners hopes to build
a new home for the South Side arts community in the
halls of Our Lady of Peace.
Partners’ vision for AiSP in Chicago is to replicate
our work at Logan Square and South Chicago in
communities across the north, south, and west sides
of the city. Chicago’s congregations and parishes have
the potential to contribute millions of dollars worth
of cultural capital to the city’s economy. Through
the Arts in Sacred Places program, Partners will
expand access to – and audiences for – the arts. It
will build the capacity of congregations to serve their
neighbors, revolutionize how faith communities and
arts communities see each other – and transform the
neighborhoods that they both call home.
Working in partnership with local arts organizations,
community leaders, and faith leaders, the goal for
Logan Square is to foster new matches between
local artists and churches or synagogues in their
neighborhood. AiSP Advisory Committee member
Dawn Marie Galtieri expressed her hope for the project,
“I know there is underutilized space in Logan Square
and it could so benefit local artists. I’ve wanted to do
this for a long time, but I couldn’t do it on my own.”
Having received a warm reception from artists,
congregations, community organizations, and
neighbors in Logan Square, Partners will be launching
a parallel project in the South Chicago neighborhood.
Once home to a booming steel industry, the mills shut
down in the late 20th century, leaving behind 400 acres
of vacant land, a devastated environment, and massive
unemployment.
While many challenges remain, a rich network of
local grassroots organizations is working together in
South Chicago to rebuild and revitalize. The faith and
arts communities have been vital to these efforts, and
through AiSP, Partners will help to build on the legacy,
St. Luke’s Lutheran Church has housed the Backstage
Theater Company since 2010. Its pastor, Erik Christensen,
sits on the Chicago Arts in Sacred Places Advisory Board.
Sacred Places • Fall 2011 • 14