CPS Lives is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts organization that pairs Chicago artists, designers, thinkers and makers with a Chicago Public School during the academic year to collaborate on a project, sharing the unique and individual story of each Chicago Public School. Each story will be celebrated and exhibited throughout the city in local Chicago Public Library branches and other exhibition spaces, as well as existing on the CPS Lives social media and website as an accessible digital archive of public school history for students, families, community members, educators, administrators, policymakers & the general public.
The Chicago Public School system is the nations third largest school district, serving over 322,000 students in more than 630 schools. The sheer scale and complexity of the Chicago Public School system renders it opaque to the general public, where stories of its successes and resilience remain untold. This project shows the power of public education in Chicago. Our artists produce artwork that provide a unique window into the Chicago Public School system, generating support and reinforcing belief in the Chicago Public School mission “to provide a high quality public education for every child in every neighborhood”.
CPS Lives seeks to expand our knowledge of the space students inhabit through the work of our artists produced in the public schools. The artists seek to enlarge our understanding of the places students inhabit and their worldview through the use of cultural processes. How public spaces are enriched and developed through the presence of visual production increases the level of the students’ cultural literacy and becomes palpable to the larger civic community, both politically and culturally. This program creates ties to local communities through the exhibitions in their library branches and community centers. By creating this relationship in a public space we come to understand the complexity and importance of the public school system and the increasing importance of these public sites, their value, their diversity.
We want to hear from you! Please feel free to email us…
CPS Lives is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts organization that pairs Chicago artists, designers, thinkers and makers with a Chicago Public School during the academic year to collaborate on a project, sharing the unique and individual story of each Chicago Public School. Each story will be celebrated and exhibited throughout the city in local Chicago Public Library branches and other exhibition spaces, as well as existing on the CPS Lives social media and website as an accessible digital archive of public school history for students, families, community members, educators, administrators, policymakers & the general public.
The Chicago Public School system is the nations third largest school district, serving over 322,000 students in more than 630 schools. The sheer scale and complexity of the Chicago Public School system renders it opaque to the general public, where stories of its successes and resilience remain untold. This project shows the power of public education in Chicago. Our artists produce artwork that provide a unique window into the Chicago Public School system, generating support and reinforcing belief in the Chicago Public School mission “to provide a high quality public education for every child in every neighborhood”.
CPS Lives seeks to expand our knowledge of the space students inhabit through the work of our artists produced in the public schools. The artists seek to enlarge our understanding of the places students inhabit and their worldview through the use of cultural processes. How public spaces are enriched and developed through the presence of visual production increases the level of the students’ cultural literacy and becomes palpable to the larger civic community, both politically and culturally. This program creates ties to local communities through the exhibitions in their library branches and community centers. By creating this relationship in a public space we come to understand the complexity and importance of the public school system and the increasing importance of these public sites, their value, their diversity.
We want to hear from you! Please feel free to email us…
CPS Lives was recently featured in a Dazed article titled The Art World Agitators driving Chicago’s Creative Renaissance written by Ashleigh Kane. The article spotlights EXPO Chicago- a recurring art fair led by Tony Karman, that exhibits international galleries and artists, centering on Chicago.
Thank you Ashleigh Kane for including CPS Lives in this wonderful piece! We are thrilled to have the work of CPS Lives highlighted in an international magazine!
