Lawndale Pop-Up Spot

In the fall of 2016, UIC graduate students Chelsea Ridley and Jonathan Kelley embarked on a mission to connect with the residents of North Lawndale to create a community museum in a vacant building on 16th Street. The vision was to provide space for neighborhood residents to research and curate the history, art, issue, and science exhibitions and associated programming. Our first steps were to connect with as many community organizations and residents as possible to host visioning sessions and discuss what they would like to see from a museum in their neighborhood. Through these sessions and conversations, we were able to connect with dozens of organizations and individuals doing great work in the neighborhood. Our first collaboration led to a community-painted mural on the side of the building. The unveiling of the mural in May 2017 brought nearly 100 residents of all ages out to the site and served as our "coming out party." That fall we helped teach a course at UIC, Building a Community Museum, which brought more engagement, ideas, challenges, and progress.