2018/2019 Artists-in-Residence 

Arts + Public Life provides platforms for artists and access to arts programming through artist residencies, arts education, cultural entrepreneurship, and arts-led programs and events.

In partnership with the Center for the Study of Race, Politics & Culture, Arts + Public Life supports individual artists through the Artists-in-Residence program by advancing the opportunities available to artists who are underrepresented in the Chicago and national arts scenes. The ten-month paid residency program provides space, materials and stipends, eliminating barriers to participation. During this program, artists have access to rehearsal, performance and exhibition space at the Arts Incubator in Washington Park and access to the academic and research resources of the University.

MEET THE 2018-19 ARTISTS-IN-RESIDENCE:

Jarvis Boyland (he/him), originally from Memphis,TN, navigates intersections of black identity through portraiture. Boyland’s paintings focus on queer men of color within intimate spaces, sensitively highlighting the nuances of complex interpersonal relationships, identities, and locales. Boyland received his BFA from the University of Memphis. In summer 2018, he attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Skowhegan, ME. He has exhibited at notable galleries, including Zevitas Marcus Gallery (Los Angeles, CA), Blanc Gallery (Chicago, IL) and Viewing Room, Monique Meloche Gallery (Chicago, IL).
jarvisboyland.com

Brandon Breaux (he/him) is a fine artist and multidisciplinary designer from the South Side of Chicago, whose creative experience is comprised of painting, sculpture, web, video, print, and interactive projects. Widely known as the artist behind all three of Chance the Rapper’s iconic album covers, Breaux’s work has a distinct aesthetic for depicting life in Chicago and primarily focuses on providing representation of diverse narratives within the fine art space. Breaux’s most recent exhibitions include ‘Our Chicago’ (Chicago, IL), ‘The Practice’ (Honolulu, HI) and ‘Who Else But Us’ (Singapore).
brandonbreaux.com

Amina Ross (they/them) is an undisciplined creator. They work across mediums, including video installations, sculpture, and curatorial engagements. Ross has exhibited work, spoken on panels, and taught workshops in various spaces throughout the United States. Ross is a lecturer at School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Co-Lead Artist of Teen Creative Agency at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. Additionally, Ross runs the ongoing participatory performance series ‘Beauty Breaks’.
aminaross.com

About the Program

The residency program gives preference to artists and curators whose work examines themes relevant to South Side communities and engages issues of race and ethnicity. Across a diverse range of disciplines, each cohort of artists explores dimensions of race and racialized communities–anti-racism/racism, discrimination, institutional manifestations race, power and privilege. Whether through painting, installation, performance, textiles or photography, the residencies contribute to deepening understandings of race, class, gender, sexualities, nationality as well as their intersections and implications. 

Artists applying for the program have a demonstrated history of rooting their practice in community engagement. The Artist-in-Residence program is typified by active immersion in public-facing aspects of APL, rather than a “retreat from” traditional studio practice. During the ten months, artists are present at the Arts Incubator. They lead public workshops, programs and artists talks and host studio visits, host dinners, screenings and readings.

Arts + Public Life offers three distinct residency programs: Artist-in-Residence, Crossing Boundaries Prize, and the Curatorial Collective. In 2019, APL will add a fourth: a theater and performing arts residency in conjunction with the opening of the Green Line Arts Center.

29 Chicago-based artists and curators have been hosted annually since 2011. Artists have included photographer Cecil McDonald, sound artist Ayana Contreras, dance collaborative Honey Pot Performance, and studio artist Brittney Leeanne Williams.