SPACE

The Mission

School Partnership for Art and Civic Engagement, also known as SPACE, is a learning program created by the MCA to foster the creative, intellectual, and civic development of students.

A multiyear partnership with Chicago Public High Schools, SPACE embeds an artist-in-residence within a school, fostering the MCA’s learning philosophy far outside the walls of the museum. Students investigate local issues, identify what impacts their life directly and what they feel passionate about, then work to research and engage community members in dialogue to create change.

Teaching Artists

SPACE resident artists relocate their studio practices, transforming the high schools into creative hubs for artistic and civic exchange. Together with the art and social studies teachers, they codesign and coteach an interdisciplinary socially engaged curriculum.

Damon Locks

Artist-in-Residence at SARAH E. GOODE S.T.E.M. ACADEMY

Andres L. Hernandez

Artist-in-Residence at CURIE METROPOLITAN HIGH SCHOOL

Zakkiyyah Najeebah Dumas-O’Neal

Artist in Residence at NICHOLAS SENN HIGH SCHOOL

Sites

All three school sites develop their work differently but all work in a collaborative manner to engage students in an exploration of civic issues that are specific to their communities.They approach this inquiry through the lens of contemporary art and strive to create youth agency so that SPACE youth feel powerful and confident in their ability to create positive change.

School Sites and Partner Teachers

Curie Metropolitan High School, Archer Heights

Daniel Jimenez, Civics

Valerie Xanos, Art

Sarah E. Goode S.T.E.M. Academy, Ashburn

Maria Scandariato, Civics

Nicholas Senn High School, Edgewater

Shifa Ahmed, Civics

Casey Murtaugh, Art

Intended Outcomes

SPACE culminates in student-created artistic projects and civic action plans that address the pressing needs of their community. Youth take the lead as empowered change-agents with the confidence, knowledge, and ability to confront real-world issues.