While browsing Arts of Life’s “Community on the Make” exhibition at the Design Museum of Chicago, I had the pleasure of meeting Marcus Imani Kennedy, one of the artists featured in this 25th anniversary retrospective. As he prepared for a TV interview with NBC Chicago marking the exhibition’s opening week, Kennedy warmly greeted visitors and eagerly discussed his passion for music, one of his main inspirations as a painter.
Kennedy is one of over 80 artists currently practicing at Arts of Life, a nonprofit that provides studio space, professional opportunities, and a supportive community for visual artists with a range of physical and intellectual disabilities. “Community on the Make,” the organization’s first-ever museum retrospective, celebrates a quarter-century of creativity by displaying recent pieces by Arts of Life members, volunteers, and staff alongside earlier works by founding member Veronica “Ronnie” Cuculich.
Courtesy Arts of Life
Charming bursts of imagination are around every corner, from the whimsical animals of Alex Scott (A Hippo Eating a Watermelon; Untitled: Six-Legged Dog Critter) to Christina Zion’s Lewis Carroll-inspired A Place in Wonderland and the sci-fi overtones of David Krueger’s The Aliens Are Coming! It’s Time to Blow Up the Planet. Ariée’s penchant for fashion design comes through in two untitled pieces that depict stylishly dressed women, with glitter and rhinestones adding flair to a striking pink-and-black color scheme. A landscape by Isamu Guy Conners (Mountains) and several abstract acrylics by Ted Gram-Boarini evoke the vibrant colors and visible brush strokes of Impressionism. The sheer range of styles and subjects represented here makes for a compelling introduction to Arts of Life and its core values: inspiring artistic expression, building community, promoting self-respect, and developing independence.
“Community on the Make”
Through 9/30: 10 AM–5 PM daily, Design Museum of Chicago, 72 E. Randolph, designchicago.org/arts-of-life-25th-anniversary, free
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