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Chicago Latino Arts and Culture Summit

May 24, 2022

 

The foundation was pleased to present the first ever Chicago Latino Arts and Culture Summit on Monday, May 16, 2022 at the 21c Museum Hotel Chicago. The full day event was attended by leaders of twenty-two leaders of the city’s Latino arts and culture organizations for discussions, networking, and breakout sessions concerning fund-raising, media presence, and racism and the Latino community.

Organizers included Carlos Hernandez Falcón (Executive Director of the Puerto Rican Arts Alliance), Myrna Salazar (Executive Director of the Chicago Latino Theater Alliance), Carlos Tortolero (President of the National Museum of Mexican Art), Pepe Vargas (Executive Director of the International Latino Cultural Center of Chicago), and Michael Angell (Director) and Audra Yokley (Program Officer, Performing Arts Program) of the foundation.

Read the summit’s manifesto here.

Read the full press release here.

Some of the arts leaders at the Chicago Latino Arts and Culture Summit.

 

Carlos Tortolero leads a breakout session on fund-raising.

 

Myrna Salazar leads a breakout session on PR and media presence.

 

Organizers (left to right) Audra Yokley, Carlos Tortolero, Mike Angell, Carlos Hernandez Falcón, Myrna Salazar, Pepe Vargas, and MC Teresa Córdova.

 

Networking session bringing together funders and arts organization leaders.

 

Carlos Tortolero leads the breakout session, “Racism and Latino Culture.”

Summit Press Release

May 24, 2022

CHICAGO, May 24, 2022 – “One-third of Chicago is Latino. Does your funding portfolio reflect that? If not, why not?” 

 

That was one of many pointed questions that sparked frank dialogue between leaders of Chicago’s Latino nonprofit arts groups and their counterparts at some of the city’s most influential foundations at Quienes Somos – ¡Aqui Estamos! (Who We Are – We Are Here!), the Chicago Latino Arts and Culture Summit, held Monday, May 16 at 21c Museum Hotel Chicago.

 

Leaders of 22 local Latino arts organizations gathered for a full morning of keynotes, panels and breakout sessions. In the afternoon, top decision-makers from some of the city’s most influential foundations arrived for an in-person meeting with their newly emboldened Latino arts leader counterparts around one key topic – boosting equity in arts funding.

 

“One goal is for Latino groups, representing many different identities and art forms, to come together and speak as one voice in order to get the support and recognition you deserve,” said event sponsor Michael Angell, Co-Founder and Director,  Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, to set the tone for a full day of conversation, community building and action. The Angell Foundation conceived and sponsored Monday’s first-ever Chicago Arts and Culture Summit with the Chicago Latino Theater Alliance, the International Latino Cultural Center of Chicago, the National Museum of Mexican Art and the Puerto Rican Arts Alliance.

 

In his opening remarks, Carlos Hernández Falcón, Executive Director and Founder, Puerto Rican Arts Alliance, admitted “I used to shy away from feel-good conferences. But my hope today is that we can find new ways to act upon the growing numbers and many contributions of Chicago’s Latino community. Before, we were portrayed as a marginalized community. That is no longer true. We need to change the narrative. We all deserve to be in a better place to strengthen our organizations financially.” 

 

Carlos Tortolero, President and Founder, National Museum of Mexican Art, agreed. “We’ve heard ‘this is the time for Latinos’ so many times, and then the money goes to the white organizations. If we continue to let this happen, it’s our fault now. We are not a minority anymore. We have to stop being afraid, because we’re not getting our fair share. We need to demand our share of power and resources.”

 

Breakout sessions revolved around topics including Racism and the Latino Community, moderated by Tortolero, Fundraising and Technical Support, moderated by Hernandez, and Advocacy and Media Presence, moderated by Myrna Salazar, Executive Director, the Chicago Latino Theater Alliance.

“Our group agreed Latino arts organizations have always had to work hard to control our narratives,” reported Salazar, “but we’d like to find new ways to elevate our art and make sure we are being represented in the media. The large media outlets in Chicago, specifically Spanish-language, neither has an arts or entertainment reporter any longer. That’s a problem. That’s a problem that needs to be addressed.”

 

Wendy Mateo, Co-Artistic Director, Teatro Vista, was met with a chorus of snapping fingers when she noted, “We have to work double to get a fraction of what white institutions have. And we often partner with white institutions so everyone can see the quality of our work. But what happens when we partner? The larger institutions mine us for new audiences. They don’t give us an equitable portion of the box office. They apply for our grants. They think we get the credit and that is enough. Funders, please stop redirecting funds to Latino artists through white institutions.” 


The afternoon plenary, including funders, started with The Growing Latino Population in Chicago, with new data shared by Dr. Teresa Córdova, conference moderator and Director of the Great Cities Institute at the University of Illinois-Chicago.

Funders also were shown a short video (watch here) demonstrating the depth, diversity and key contributions of all of Chicago’s participating Latino arts organizations, followed by a recap of key takeaways and next steps from the morning sessions.

The day concluded with a networking session to facilitate personal introductions and conversations with funding professionals from Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Joyce Foundation, Pritzker Traubert Foundation, Terra Foundation for American Art, Driehaus Foundation and Walder Foundation.

 

By the end of the session, Michael Angell of the Angell Foundation revealed new plans to build on this first Chicago Latino Arts and Culture Summit and explore creating a new, ongoing advocacy organization, the Chicago Latino Arts and Culture Network.

Initial concepts for the group would be to advocate on a continual and communal basis for more equitable funding of Chicago’s Latino arts organizations, along with media advocacy, assistance with grant applications, marketing support, anti-racism initiatives, even succession planning.


“After my experience of 40 years of culture wars, I look forward to seeing a future agenda set that creates tremendous opportunities for cultural dialogues and engagement,” concluded Pepe Vargas, Founder and Executive Director of the International Latino Cultural Center of Chicago. “We are committed to working together, each of us with our distinct identities, but Latinos all, with one voice for a culturally rich Chicago.”

 

The full list of participating nonprofit arts organizations includes Africaribe, Aguijón Theater Company, Chicago Latino Theater Alliance, Chicago Mariachi Project, Chicago Samba, Cuerdas Clásicas, International Latino Cultural Center of Chicago, Mariachi Herencia de México, National Museum of Mexican Art, OPEN Center for the Arts, Puerto Rican Arts Alliance, Repertorio Latino Theater Company, Sones de Mexico Ensemble, Tango 21 Dance Theater, Teatro Tariakuri, Teatro Vista, The Mexican Folkloric Dance Company of Chicago, The Miracle Center, The National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture, UrbanTheater Company, Visíon Latino Theatre Company and Water People Theater.

Summit Manifesto

May 24, 2022

Quienes Somos – ¡Aquí Estamos!

(Reprinted from the Summit Booklet)

For over one hundred years, the Latino community has been settling in the Chicago area and making this great city their home. Our natural instinct in coming to a new country has been to express proudly our individual cultural identity. Today, in an ever-changing large metropolitan city, we more than ever continue to express our cultural survival instincts. Through organized performing arts such as music and theater performances as well as visual arts and other artistic disciplines, Latinos have demonstrated resiliency in distinctively maintaining our presence in Chicago.

Early Latino populations who have acted as cultural pioneers in the arts have included Mexicans, Puerto Ricans and Cubans. The list of cultural groups has grown to include Colombians, Venezuelans, Central Americans and others. As Latinos grow in numbers and are now the second largest population in the great city of Chicago, it is befitting that we begin to draw upon our collective efforts to demonstrate to the city that Quienes Somos – ¡Aquí Estamos! (Who We Are – We Are Here!) and that our cultural survival will not go unnoticed.

Our journey to organize this conference includes four leading cultural institutions which collectively bring over 125 years of experience to the field: National Museum of Mexican Arts, Puerto Rican Arts Alliance, International Latino Cultural Center and Chicago Latino Theater Alliance. Our Quienes Somos – ¡Aquí Estamos! mission is to act as a catalyst and to usher a platform aimed at setting a future agenda that highlights the importance of investing in Latino arts and culture. It will, furthermore, create tremendous opportunities for cultural dialogues and engagement. We are certain that this initiative will organically move forward to greater things that will benefit the Latino community.

We need the energy of you and your organizations to be a part of this ambitious project. We are committed to working together, each of us with our distinct identities, but Latinos all, with one voice for a culturally rich Chicago.

¡Aquí Estamos!

Early Latino populations who have acted as cultural pioneers in the arts have included Mexicans, Puerto Ricans and Cubans. The list of cultural groups has grown to include Colombians, Venezuelans, Central Americans and others. As Latinos grow in numbers and are now the second largest population in the great city of Chicago, it is befitting that we begin to draw upon our collective efforts to demonstrate to the city that Quienes Somos – ¡Aquí Estamos! (Who We Are – We Are Here) and that our cultural survival will not go unnoticed.

Our journey to organize this conference includes four leading cultural institutions which collectively bring over 125 years of experience to the field: National Museum of Mexican Arts, Puerto Rican Arts Alliance, International Latino Cultural Center and Chicago Latino Theater Alliance. Our Quienes Somos – ¡Aquí Estamos! mission is to act as a catalyst and to usher a platform aimed at setting a future agenda that highlights the importance of investing in Latino arts and culture. It will, furthermore, create tremendous opportunities for cultural dialogues and engagement. We are certain that this initiative will organically move forward to greater things that will benefit the Latino community.

We need the energy of you and your organizations to be a part of this ambitious project. We are committed to working together, each of us with our distinct identities, but Latinos all, with one voice for a culturally rich Chicago. We look forward to seeing you at the Summit.

Grantee Spotlight – Single Carrot Theatre

April 15, 2015

The Ensemble

Ensemble

 

Single Carrot Theatre (SCT) was founded in 2005 by a group of students at the University of Colorado, Boulder. The ensemble theatre company takes its name from a quote by the painter Paul Cezanne: “The day is coming, when a single carrot, freshly observed, will set off a revolution.” In 2007, after considering 50 American cities from which to launch their revolution, Single Carrot Theatre voted to move to Baltimore, Maryland.

The troupe has been something of a pioneer of ensemble theatre in Baltimore – when the company arrived in Charm City in 2007, its organizational structure set it apart from other area theatres. At the theatre’s core is the ensemble – a governing body of artists who are actively involved in strategic decision-making, long-term planning, and new policy creation. Today, there are more than ten companies in Baltimore that, like Single Carrot, function under the ensemble model.

 

SCTPhotos3

Three productions, left to right, “Milk Milk Lemonade,” “Murder Ink,” and “The Apocalypse Comes At 6PM”

 

 

Over the last eight years, SCT has staged 65 productions; introduced audiences to playwrights from Russia, Bulgaria, China, Puerto Rico, and the Czech Republic; and entertained and trained more than 10,000 young people. The theatre produces at least one new play or devised work each season, in addition to pursuing socially significant material and embracing technical design that reflects a commitment to uncharted artistic territory. A review of Charles Mee’s Utopia Parkway, which the troupe is presenting through late April 2015, describes the scenic design as “a child’s graffiti-filled urban playground complete with mini skateboarding ramps…[that] doubles as a ritual circle, with incense burning center stage and chants to a dying civilization.” The production is “very much in the style of rough theatre, street theatre, agitprop — a community, if you will, performing an ancient tale for a hungry-for-answers audience” (DC Metro Theatre Arts).

 

Utopia Parkway

Utopia Parkway

 

Single Carrot’s work onstage is complemented by educational programming that provides children and teens with unique opportunities to enrich their academic and artistic aspirations. Offerings range from weekend workshops and a summer High School Conservatory to student matinees, in-class visits with actors and artists, and a touring assembly program. Beginning in April 2015, SCT will be in-residence at nearby Margaret Brent Elementary/Middle School to bring 45 minutes of theatre and arts instruction to all grade levels each day. As each class works toward a performance, instructors will spend considerable time building an ensemble within each class.

 

High School Conservatory

High School Conservatory

 

Single Carrot didn’t have the space to simultaneously run artistic and education programs until last year, when it moved to an impressive, custom-built facility. With a grant from the Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, SCT has been able to offer more programming and improved amenities without raising ticket prices or adjusting the number of scholarships it makes available. Single Carrot believes the arts should be a right, not a privilege. The Foundation is pleased to bring the company closer to making that ideal a reality.

 

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Welcome to the web site of the Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, where you can learn about the Foundation, its granting activities, and peruse grant recipients. Current account holders can log into the online grant management area to work on open applications or complete reports. While you're here, please click on About Paul M. Angell to learn about the life of the man who inspired the formation of this Foundation.

Fall 2022 Cycle Now Open

May 2, 2022

The foundation's Fall 2022 grant cycle is now open. The deadline for receipt of Performing Arts LOIs is Monday, June 6th at 11:59 p.m. CDT. First time applicants should examine our online guidance within the FOR APPLICANTS tab, above, particularly the page, HOW TO APPLY. Click here to access the 2022 Grant Cycle Calendar. **For this grant … Learn More »

News from Paul M. Angell Family Foundation

Meet Mark Anthony Florido

May 5, 2022

  The Paul M. Angell Family Foundation is delighted to welcome Mark Anthony Florido as the Program Officer for Social Impact. Mark Anthony will provide support and guidance to applicants and grantee partners within the Social Impact program area with a focus on Education. … Learn More»


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