Our Vision
Enrich Chicago aims to advance a collective vision to irrevocably change the racist systems in the arts so that BIPOC arts and BIPOC people can thrive.
Enrich Chicago believes that through collective commitment and collective action we can help to develop and nurture a community of committed, anti-racist leaders leading toward lasting change for Chicago’s arts and culture sector.
We Support the Arts Sector by:
Providing anti-racism learning opportunities that educate members of the Chicago arts and culture community about systemic racism.
Equipping members of the Chicago arts and culture community with tools to address systemic racism and inequity.
Promoting the equitable distribution of resources for BIPOC arts organizations.
Advancing strategic initiatives that support the assessment of impact and systems of accountability to BIPOC(Black, Indigenous, People of Color) people.
We dream of and work toward…
A Chicago arts and culture sector that looks like Chicago. One where BIPOC leadership is centered. Money and other resources flow to the organizations that have been doing the work without it. Where art lives on every corner, and no artist starves making it. Where we create, express, and exist in our full humanity. Where we rest. Where we share power. Where we tell ALL of our stories, not just the ones about pain and "overcoming."
BIPOC leadership is centered. In big institutions and small ones. In non-profits and for-profits. Reflecting the city they serve, accountable to the communities they come from, honored, heard and resourced to lead.
Communities of care. More human, less hustle. Four-day work weeks. Wages that reflect both lived and professional experience, with the gaps between executives and staff, and between large and small organizations, closing, not growing. Power shared instead of hoarded. Hierarchies dissolved in favor of deeper relationships across generations, mentorship, and collective systems of support that hold us all.
Art is everywhere. Music on every corner. Murals on every block. Art for every person in Chicago. Artists resourced to live and make. Investment in early education and emerging voices. Funds and prizes that sustain the people making the work.
Creativity without barriers. Artists making work without permission or apology. Everyone using creativity to rethink, imagine, and form systems without oppression. Room to experiment, to play, to try, to fail, to succeed, without financial pressure or fear of criticism. Communities that experiment together. Rules we rewrite in relationship. A culture where speaking up doesn't cost you. New commissions, new programs, new exhibitions. Vibrancy as the baseline.
Shared anti-racist practice. A deeper understanding of racism and its implications. A shared anti-racist scheme that we carry together, inside our organizations and out into the sector — agitating and activating in ways that move us intentionally into the liberated reality we are seeking to create.
Abundance, not scarcity. The funding pie grows. Resources flow to BIPOC arts and organizations consistently. Multi-year, unrestricted, enough to plan, enough to grow.
Access without gatekeepers. Chicago's art belongs to all of Chicago, and from there, to the world. Whoever wants to engage, can. Cost is not the barrier. Language is not the barrier. Neighborhood is not the barrier. Disability is not the barrier. No need for special outreach, engagement, or audience development; the invitation is always open.
The Enrich Way…
Joy is our discipline and our foundation. We practice it. We laugh in meetings. We feed each other. We speak in rough drafts, because no one needs to have it figured out before they share their ideas. The gatherings warm us, the relationships hold and sustain us. We celebrate what's working before we fix what's broken. We refuse to build the new world on the same exhausting terms as the old one.
Expanded narratives. Our stories are told authentically, not filtered through the gaze and preferences of others. A greater diversity of stories, rooted in the fullness of who we actually are. Polyvocality is embraced.
Intentional partnership. Collaboration as the way we move together. Fewer islands of elite organizations separated from smaller ones. Shared language, shared understanding, loving accountability and mutual coaching between us.-----
