MARWENNOW FALL 15
30 UNIQUE COURSES WERE OFFERED IN THE FALL— THE MOST EVER IN A SINGLE TERM.
40,000
MORE THAN SQUARE FEET OF DRYWALL, WALLBOARD, AND GYPSUM WERE USED IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE MARWEN ARTS CAMPUS. COURSES WERE TAUGHT IN
8 DIFFERENT STUDIOS
130 SOLAR PANELS WERE INSTALLED ON THE ROOF AND WILL PRODUCE 41,580 WATTS OF ELECTRICITY FOR MARWEN. 354 STUDENTS AND FAMILY MEMBERS ATTENDED MARWEN’S FALL TERM NEW STUDENT ORIENTATION.
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52,000 SCREWS, PINS, AND FASTENERS WERE USED
OVER
THROUGHOUT THE RENOVATION PROCESS.
35% MORE EXHIBITION SPACE TO PROFESSIONALLY DISPLAY THE WORK OF A GROWING STUDENT POPULATION.
MARWENNOW = THIS ISSUE’S STORIES
JUNE 20 New student orientation at University of Illinois at Chicago JULY 6 Summer term classes began at UIC JULY 31 Students in Art at Work, Marwen’s capstone career program, made their final presentations AUGUST 12 Students participated in a one-day art making workshop at Indian Boundary Park as part of the #ThisIsMarwen campaign SEPTEMBER 19 Fall term new student orientation SEPTEMBER 24 Marwen Arts Campus Grand Opening event (See Coming Home on pages 4 & 5) SEPTEMBER 29 Fall term classes began (See Digital to Darkroom on pages 6 & 7) NOVEMBER 6 10th Anniversary Art Fair (See Art Fair at 10 on pages 8 & 9) DECEMBER 11 Fall term exhibition opening, 5:00–7:00 pm
CAMPAIGN FOR THE MARWEN ARTS CAMPUS FOUNDERS’ CIRCLE
Karen and Steve Berkowitz The Collins Family Foundation The Crown Goodman Family Virginia James/The Hickory Foundation Northern Trust Dr. Bryan S. Traubert and Ms. Penny Pritzker/Pritzker Traubert Family Foundation Deborah and Stephen Quazzo Helen and Sam Zell/Zell Family Foundation Marwen’s campaign is closing. To join this list of extraordinary supporters who’ve invested in our future, please visit marwen.org/support or call 312.374.2902 to make a gift to the Campaign for the Marwen Arts Campus. Learn more and see a full list of campaign donors at marwen.org/about/marwenarts-campus. COVER: THE PRITZKER TRAUBERT FAMILY FOUNDATION LOGGIA AT THE MARWEN ARTS CAMPUS. PHOTO BY STEVE HALL, HEDRICH BLESSING PHOTOGRAPHERS.
LEFT: STUDENT ARTWORK IN THE SECOND FLOOR BERKOWITZ FAMILY GALLERY. PHOTO BY MARWEN ALUMNA, MARIA MURCZEK.
COMING
FOR OVER 28 YEARS Marwen has fostered an environment that inspires young people through the arts. Soon coming to a close, the Campaign for the Marwen Art Campus is about allowing even more young people to have the same life changing experiences while also expanding course offerings and bettering our own methods for teaching the next generation. This dream, first set into motion three years ago, is now a reality.
THIS DREAM, FIRST SET INTO MOTION THREE YEARS AGO, IS NOW A REALITY.
First impressions play a major role in shaping new relationships, and on September 19, Marwen made a lasting impact on hundreds of young people at the first new student orientation in our
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transformed facility. Their looks of awe and excitement were hugely affirming but the event was only the soft opening before inviting the entire Marwen community to see what they had helped to build.
Less than a week later was the grand opening. Many who had been longtime advocates for Marwen youth and steadfast drivers behind organizational growth were seeing the new space for the first time — and they were thrilled with the results. Among those praising both institutional aspirations and our individual students was Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel who was on hand to help cut the ribbon. Emanuel noted that this
HOME
is a moment where we need to “rededicate ourselves to making sure that every child has the opportunity to be educated in the arts.” He along with organizational leadership and longtime supporters, officially cut the ribbon and welcomed all those in attendance to tour the new Marwen Arts Campus and celebrate what the collective has been able to accomplish. As reopening celebrations taper, students are settling into a revitalized and more expansive arts practice. New courses that were never possible in Marwen’s old spaces are now being offered (see pages six and seven) and
the tools and supplies for teaching existing classes are even more robust. The future is bright for Marwen youth — both those currently engaged in our courses as well as those who have not yet found us, but whose lives will change when they do. GRATEFUL FOR THE LONG LIST OF CAMPAIGN SUPPORTERS, Marwen would have never been
able to make the physical transformation of our facility a reality without Wheeler Kearns Architects, Power Construction, and Gensler, whose contributions can be seen on these page and in more detail on pages eight and nine.
ABOVE LEFT: EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ANTONIA CONTRO, CHICAGO MAYOR RAHM EMANUEL, ALUMNA AND TRUSTEE AKILAH HALLEY, BOARD CHAIRMAN JAMES HILL III, LONGTIME SUPPORTER HELEN ZELL, AND CHICAGO ALDERMAN WALTER BURNETT, JR. TOGETHER CUT THE RIBBON ON THE MARWEN ARTS CAMPUS, SEPTEMBER 24, 2015. PHOTO BY TIMMY SAMUEL, STARBELLY STUDIOS. ABOVE: FUTURE MARWEN STUDENTS REGISTER FOR THEIR FIRST CLASSES AT NEW STUDENT ORIENTATION IN STUDIO THREE, ONE OF THE NEW TECHNOLOGY STUDIOS, SEPTEMBER 19, 2015.
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New facilities provide new ways of making art
DIGITAL//TO// DARKROOM WITH TECHNOLOGY as an increasingly
present force in the lives of today’s youth, Marwen teaching artist and exhibitions coordinator Lisa Lindsay embraces her students’ interest in digital photography while challenging them with analog approaches. This methodology was once near impossible at Marwen; since the building’s renovation, however, it is extraordinarily simple to pull off. “Young people today have cell phones with a camera and they’re constantly creating images,” says Lindvay. “They’re in a culture that’s so saturated with imagery and they don’t think about it, they’re just taking pictures but unaware of the process or what it means to take a photograph, or even that they can do that so freely. This class allows students to contemplate what photography is.” The class in question is,“Digital to Darkroom Photograms,” a sixth through eighth grade course in which students are exploring the relationship between digital and analog photography. Using a subject familiar to most of today’s youth— junk food—photograms were created in the darkroom from negatives made by printing each student’s digital photos onto
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transparency paper. Essentially moving backwards in time and technology, the class is an effort to bridge the gap between new and old and show that photography, no matter what kind, is quite simply just light on surface. Teaching this lesson has become an exponentially simpler task since Marwen’s third floor was renovated and enhanced with the addition of three technology studios, a darkroom, lighting lab, and portfolio center. Working out of Studio Two on the third floor, Lindvay has a darkroom at her disposal, an expansive classroom with natural light, and the technology resources of iPads and laptops. All of these resources together allow her to split the students into groups with each faction mastering their own specific tool or technology, and when the students switch, they’re able to teach each other.
“Photography is an evolving medium,” says Lindvay “It’s relatively new compared to most other forms of art, and that recent history means we can’t be too quick to get rid of darkrooms or lose sight of the past. Digital and analog all belong to the same art form and can now coexist together at Marwen.”
//This methodology was once near impossible at Marwen; since the building’s renovation, however, it is extraordinarily simple to pull off. //
STUDENTS IN FALL TERM’S “DIGITAL TO DARKROOM PHOTOGRAMS” USE JUNK FOOD AS THE SUBJECT OF THEIR WORK WHILE EXPLORING BOTH DIGITAL AND ANALOG PROCESSES.
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ART FAIR AT 10
A BIGGER AND BETTER ART FAIR CELEBRATES A MILESTONE
FOR TEN YEARS, Marwen has thrown a festive fall party known as Art Fair. This annual celebration, exhibition, and art sale features the work from a wide range of students, alumni, teaching artists, and staff all exhibited together on Marwen’s gallery walls. “Art Fair is unique as it’s the one event where all of Marwen’s stakeholders can come together in celebration of our mission,” says event founder and Marwen trustee, Isa Pressman.
Not only was Art Fair 2015 more spacious, it raised almost $65,000 for free Marwen programs that will allow young people to continue creating and discovering their passions for many years into the future. But with a growing pool of alumni and more than 900 students served each year, available wall space for exhibited art was at a premium. However, the tenth anniversary event, held just last month, was a great testimony to the value of Marwen’s transformed facility. The addition of exhibition space on the first floor, plus an entirely new gallery on the third floor alleviated any concerns of overcrowding while still showing more art than ever before.
STUDENTS, FAMILIES, ALUMNI, TEACHING ARTISTS, AND SUPPORTERS CELEBRATE TOGETHER AT MARWEN’S 10TH ANNIVERSARY ART FAIR, NOVEMBER 6, 2015. Photos by Timmy Samuel, Starbelly Studios.
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Not only was Art Fair 2015 more spacious, it raised almost $65,000 for free Marwen programs that will allow young people to continue creating and discovering their passions for many years into the future. “I loved getting to see everyone’s work and the new spaces at Marwen simply mean more opportunities for amazing artists,” says alumna and assistant teaching artist Lee Kintner “and that’s something everyone can get behind.”
AT MARWEN ART FAIR on Friday, November 6, the new third floor gallery was dedicated to the amazing work of three important institutional partners without whom the creation of the Marwen Arts Campus would have been impossible. Photos of construction progress and watercolor renderings envisioning what’s now become a reality were on display. Learn more about these indispensible supporters below: Wheeler Kearns Architects helped shape the vision for Marwen’s space as one of our most important educational resources. The team contributed significant time, in-kind support, and expertise to adapt to new challenges and opportunities. Their extraordinary dedication and attention to detail ensure functionality and elegance for Marwen students. Power Construction is one of Chicago’s most accomplished general contractors. The firm donated all pre-construction services including budgeting, support for permitting, and identification of subcontractors. Power’s expertise and experience proved invaluable, helping Marwen complete the project on time and on budget. Gensler assembled a pro bono team of designers who conducted a careful needs assessment and produced a stunning vision for Marwen’s studios and workspaces. They then worked tirelessly, contacting vendors and industry colleagues to secure hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of donated furnishings for Marwen’s students, teaching artists, and staff.
WATERCOLOR RENDERINGS BY WHEELER KEARNS ARCHITECTS OF MARWEN’S NEW LOGGIA AND THE RECONFIGURED LOBBY. ON THE RIGHT, THE FINISHED SPACES. Photos by Steve Hall, Hedrich Blessing Photographers.
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UPCOMING AT MARWEN FALL TERM EXHIBITION OPENING
SPRING TERM BEGINS
December 11, 2015 Students, families and lovers of art are all invited for the opening night of Marwen’s fall term exhibition, including the work from thirty different Marwen courses— our largest group ever!
February 9, 2016 Week one of our new ten week term model gets underway.
PAINTBRUSH BALL
SPRING NEW STUDENT ORIENTATION
May 6, 2016 Our annual fundraiser to support Marwen’s programs returns to Morgan Manufacturing, chaired by Karen and Steve Berkowitz.
January 30, 2016 First time students will gather together to learn about what it means to be part of the Marwen community, then register for their first classes.
ABOVE: PHOTOGRAPHY STUDENTS AT CHICAGO’S FEDERAL PLAZA DURING FALL TERM’S “THE VIEW FROM HERE: ARCHITECTURAL PHOTOGRAPHY”