African American Art Center in Chicago earns National Register status

Among more than 100 art centers initially supported under the Works Progress Administration’s Federal Art Project, the South Side Community Art Center in Chicago remains the only one still serving and doing so in its original building, reports Forbes magazine. That remarkable distinction has earned the property the achievement to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places, starting this month. Located in the Bronzeville section of Chicago, the South Side Community Art Center’s mission is to conserve, preserve and promote the legacy and future of African-American art and artists, while educating the community on the value of art and culture. Famous for hosting both established and emerging African-American artists in several mediums, the Center also provides a range of educational programming for children, adults and elders, as well as invaluable volunteer opportunities. During the Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Second New Deal sought to restore economic security, in part, through a national work relief initiative called the Works Progress Administration, also known as the WPA. The Federal Arts Project, administered under the WPA, employed artists to use their skills and talents for society’s benefit, bringing art into everyday community life. So in autumn 1938, African-American leaders, artists and other interested persons convened around the idea of founding an art center. African Americans in the arts, who were routinely denied opportunities in galleries and other venues around the Windy City, wanted a place that encouraged career development and arts education. Founding members began raising funds for the acquisition of a building. By partnering with the Federal Art Project, the group learned that the government would pay staff and artists’ salaries at community art centers, until 1943, when the WPA was discontinued. But the Center survived and has finally achieved the National Registry of Historic Places status.