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Suzette Bross (she/her)
Sophia Guadalupe Padgett Pérez (she/her/they/them)
Susan T. Mangaluz (she/her)
Ebony N. Andrews (she/her)
Molly Kelly
Michael T. Noonan
Cheri Hubbard
Jenn Dixon
Kelly Costello
Yumi Ross
Marielle Lifshitz
Cyraina Johnson-Roullier
Smita Shah
Peter B. Smith
Susan Aaron
Teri Boyd
Nora Daley
Tricia Van Eck
Terry Evans
Vikki Hood
Karen Krehbiel
Carrie Lannon
Caroline Older
Lori Smedley
Gary Schechner
Matt Siber
Jan Tichy
Jay Wolke
Brooke Hummer
Jeff Phillips
The Chicago Public School (CPS) system is the nation’s fourth largest school district, serving over 325,000 students in 634 schools. Further, CPS predominantly serves students of color, with 70% of CPS students reported to come from low-income households. Research underscores that students from disinvested communities benefit significantly from arts programming, which fosters critical thinking, community building, and civic engagement (Source: NEA, Arts Education in America).
Artist-founded in 2017, Artists in Public Schools (formerly CPS Lives) was created by photographer Suzette Bross to integrate artists and cultural producers into CPS through paid artist residencies. Artists in Public Schools offers these artist residencies to CPS at zero-to-low cost, ensuring accessible collaboration between the artists, the students, and the school community. Since its inception, Artists in Public Schools has transformed public school environments into vibrant hubs of creativity, cultivating opportunities for professional, working, and emerging artists to connect with CPS students and faculty to create meaningful art experiences.
Learn MoreCPS 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…
Learn MoreWe proudly appreciate support from our partners.
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2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
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Class of 2022
Class of 2021
Class of 2020
Class of 2019
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The Chicago Public School (CPS) system is the nation’s fourth largest school district, serving over 325,000 students in 634 schools. Further, CPS predominantly serves students of color, with 70% of CPS students reported to come from low-income households. Research underscores that students from disinvested communities benefit significantly from arts programming, which fosters critical thinking, community building, and civic engagement (Source: NEA, Arts Education in America).
Artist-founded in 2017, Artists in Public Schools (formerly CPS Lives) was created by photographer Suzette Bross to integrate artists and cultural producers into CPS through paid artist residencies. Artists in Public Schools offers these artist residencies to CPS at zero-to-low cost, ensuring accessible collaboration between the artists, the students, and the school community. Since its inception, Artists in Public Schools has transformed public school environments into vibrant hubs of creativity, cultivating opportunities for professional, working, and emerging artists to connect with CPS students and faculty to create meaningful art experiences.
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…
General Questions
— Info@artistsinpublicschools.org
Executive Director
Suzette Bross — Suzette@artistsinpublicschools.org
Artistic Director
Sophia Guadalupe Padgett Pérez — Sophia@artistsinpublicschools.org
Susan Mangaluz
Susan T. Mangaluz — Susan@artistsinpublicschools.org
Marketing and Press Inquiries
Ebony N. Andrews — Ebony@artistsinpublicschools.org
We proudly appreciate support from our partners.
Photographer, Melissa Ann Pinney, was featured in the New York Times article “Celebrating Girlhood and Feminine Identity” written by Rena Silverman. To see the images, and read the full article, follow the link below.
Artists in Public Schools (AiPS) makes art a vital part of public schools. Each donation fuels collaborations that inspire students and elevate artists, bringing diverse voices to the forefront of Chicago’s cultural landscape. All donations, no matter the amount, are greatly appreciated and help our organization make a lasting impact on the lives of artists, CPS students and faculty, and their communities.
The CPS Lives website was a gift from Columbia College Chicago. The branding, design system, and website, was created by a team of multi-disciplined students as part of the College's on-campus Internship program.
Jo-Nell Sieren, Project Manger
Students:
Dario Figueroa, UI/UX Designer
Emily Gorski, Graphic Designer
Nick Rissmeyer, Graphic Designer
Andrew C. Shike, UI/UX Designer, Web Developer (current maintainer)
Devina Yoestong, Photographer & Designer
