The City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) supports artists and cultural organizations, invests in the creative economy, and expands access and participation in the arts throughout Chicago’s 77 neighborhoods. As a collaborative cultural presenter, arts funder, and advocate for creative workers, our programs and events serve Chicagoans and visitors of all ages and backgrounds, downtown and in diverse communities across our city—to strengthen and celebrate Chicago.
Dear Chicagoans,
It is with immense pride that I share with you the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) Impact Report. This report is a testament to the vibrant tapestry that is the Soul of Chicago.
In 2023, DCASE fostered partnerships with local artists, organizations, and cultural institutions that have contributed to the success outlined in this report. These partnerships are integral to shaping the identity of Chicago, adding life and color to our neighborhoods, and positioning our city on the global stage.
In 2023, DCASE’s commitment to equitably supporting and strengthening the creative sector was demonstrated through public programming, public art installations, cultural festivals, and exhibitions that enriched Chicago's cultural landscape.
Additionally, DCASE continued its dedication to aiding the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic for the arts community through grants, collaborations, and select marketing campaigns. This support included championing local talent by prioritizing Chicagoans for performances and providing a platform to showcase the city’s local artistry.
Additionally, a highlight of 2023 was the appointment of avery r. young as Chicago’s first-ever poet laureate, a milestone that underscores our commitment to celebrating and promoting our city’s literary talent through a partnership with the Poetry Foundation and the Chicago Public Library.
This report serves as a reflection of our achievements and a blueprint for the future. I would like to express my gratitude to the team at DCASE and the arts community for their unwavering dedication to advancing the arts and culture in our city. I am eager to see the continued impact of our collective work. Together, we will continue to nurture the cultural vitality that makes Chicago so great.
Sincerely,
Brandon Johnson
Mayor, City of Chicago
Brandon JohnsonMayorCity of Chicago
Dear Friends,
DCASE has worked to increase support for Chicago’s cultural community through new and expanded programs that support artists, organizations, and neighborhoods. In 2023, this included the award of more than $23.5 million in grant dollars, a 25% increase over 2022. In total, 749 grants were awarded to Chicago artists and organizations—the most in DCASE’s history.
Thanks to our expanded partnerships with other City agencies, our public art team is now managing close to $10 million in investments across 24 wards including a $3.5 million commission at O’Hare International Airport with the Department of Aviation. These new public art projects contribute to a growing public collection of over 500 works that enhance public buildings and spaces with quality works of art by professional artists.
We saw record attendance at the Chicago Jazz Festival with 170,000 visitors over four days, and increased attendance at the Gospel Music Festival. DCASE also supported the inaugural cohort of organizations in residence at Millennium Park, which showcased a diversity of artists and engaged new audiences. Across hundreds of free cultural programs, DCASE partnered with 100 organizations and provided $2.3 million in direct support to over 1,600 artists.
DCASE also deepened its commitment to Chicago’s creative workforce. The Chicago Band Roster, a public resource of nearly 200 singers, songwriters, DJs, solo artists, and ensemble musicians, doubled its impact with 20 organizations receiving support to hire more than 400 local musicians to perform at local events.
In 2023, funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) allowed us to invest in the ongoing recovery of the arts sector including Healing Arts Chicago, a paid job training program for artists interested in health and healing that was developed in partnership with City Colleges and the Department of Public Health. And along with the Poetry Foundation and Chicago Public Library, we welcomed the inaugural Chicago Poet Laureate: avery r. young.
The year was not without its challenges, but culture in Chicago is fundamentally strong. A recently commissioned report by SMU DataArts illuminates ongoing challenges for arts nonprofits and creative workers post pandemic, but Chicago’s organizations continue to be at the forefront, producing work that engages and delights audiences. And the actor and writer’s strikes notwithstanding, Chicago’s film and television industry continued its rise during the start of 2023 and in the previous year, when film expenditures in Illinois set a record of $691 million.
In 2024, DCASE will continue its commitment to supporting creatives and expanding access to the arts throughout Chicago. The Department is in good hands, thanks to the tireless dedication of its staff and advisory council.
Thank you,
Erin Harkey
Commissioner, Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events
Erin HarkeyCommissionerDepartment of Cultural Affairs and Special Events
We’re proud to share the following stats illustrating our 2023 Cultural Grants and Resources, Public Art, TV & Film work, and Festivals & Events in just one community—Austin, a West Side neighborhood with rich history, beautiful architecture, and a vibrant cultural scene. Of course, this is just one example of how DCASE fulfills its mission throughout all of Chicago’s 77 neighborhoods.
In 2023, DCASE committed over $23.5 million in grant dollars through annual and recovery grant programs, a 25% increase over 2022. $9.5 million went to artists and organizations on the South and West sides. In total, the Department awarded 749 grants across five programs: the Chicago Arts Recovery Program, Chicago Presents, the CityArts Program, the Individual Artists Program, and the Neighborhood Access Program. Additionally:
Thanks to American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding, DCASE launched a new Chicago Arts & Health Pilot program in 2023 (now Healing Arts Chicago), in partnership with City Colleges, the Department of Public Health, and One Nation/One Project. Ten apprentices are now working in five mental health clinics citywide.
To learn more, visit ChicagoCulturalGrants.org.
The Chicago Arts & Health Pilot for Creative Workers is an innovative approach to creating resilient, healthy communities and nurturing Chicago’s support for the arts community. Thank you to CDPH, DCASE, and City Colleges for developing the unique approach to this first-of-its-kind program.
Mayor Brandon Johnson
Our public art team is now managing close to $10 million in investments across 24 wards including a $3.5 million commission at O’Hare International Airport in partnership with the Department of Aviation—the City’s largest single acquisition of works by Chicago artists in the last 30 years. Visitors arriving and departing from O’Hare’s Terminal 5 will now see an extraordinary new public art collection of more than 20 Chicago artists including: jina valentine, Jonathan Michael Castillo, and an exhibition featuring 17 original works curated by Behar X Schachman.
Additionally, a monumental sculpture by Hank Willis Thomas and Coby Kennedy in O’Hare’s Multi-Modal Facility joined previously installed works by Nick Cave, James Carpenter Design Associates, and Rob Ley. The O’Hare commission is one of more than 60 active public art projects and collaborations in 2023, in neighborhoods across Chicago—from a light installation by Luftwerk and Gloria Talamantes inspired by residents of the Back of the Yards community; to a banned books project by Theaster Gates at the Harold Washington Library Center; to a series of sculptures, a mural, and other elements created by Bob Faust at the City’s new Joint Public Safety Training Campus. Faust worked with Community Policing officers and youth from the adjacent Boys & Girls Club, incorporating their images of Austin into the artwork’s design. In October, five large-scale art banners by Leonard Suryajaya were installed along the Chicago River, reflecting a vision of an immigrant’s experience through a queer lens.
In June, the Mellon Foundation announced a grant of $6.8 million to DCASE to support the Chicago Monuments Project—memorializing events, people, and groups that historically have been excluded or underrepresented. This catalytic support will fundamentally strengthen our city, as our public art collection becomes more honest and inclusive.
For more information, images, and videos, visit Chicago.gov/PublicArt, ChicagoMonuments.org and FlyChicago.com/ArtORD.
For millions of passengers, Terminal 5 is their first impression of not only Chicago, but our entire country—and there is no better way to showcase the essence, the diversity, and the beauty of Chicago than through the arts. I thank Mayor Johnson, Commissioner Harkey, and the artists for their dedication to this commission, and I look forward to building upon this successful public art program as work begins on our core passenger facilities through O’Hare 21.
CDA Commissioner, Jamie L. Rhee
DCASE also supports artists and organizations by hiring them to perform, co-present, curate, and engage with audiences. In 2023, across hundreds of free cultural programs, we partnered with 100 organizations and provided $2.3 million in direct support to over 1,600 artists. 71% of these artists identified as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and 61% of the organizations were BIPOC-centered.
The Department produced 25 residencies to provide space, time, and funding for artists and organizations to create new work and engage with the public—including the inaugural Millennium Park Residency Program made possible by the Millennium Park Foundation and Pritzker Foundation, which gave four grants of up to $150,000 to the Chicago Human Rhythm Project; National Public Housing Museum; Praize Productions, Inc.; and Puerto Rican Arts Alliance. The Chicago Cultural Center Dance Studio Residency made possible by the Walder Foundation and National Endowment for the Arts, supported two cohorts of 15 artists total. Dozens of other creatives were “in-residence” throughout the Chicago Cultural Center in 2023. And along with the Poetry Foundation and Chicago Public Library, we welcomed the inaugural Chicago Poet Laureate: avery r. young, who will receive an honorarium and resources to create new works and public programming across the city.
Also in 2023, the Chicago Made Music Showcase selected 14 finalists from 140 auditions to compete for $10,000, paid performance opportunities at DCASE events, and one-on-one career consultations.
And the Chicago Band Roster doubled its impact, with 20 organizations receiving support to hire more than 400 local musicians to participate in neighborhood events.
For details, visit Chicago.gov/DCASE.
We are thrilled about the appointment of avery r. young as the first-ever Chicago Poet Laureate and cannot wait to collaborate with him on a range of exciting new programs and works that will enrich our neighborhood library branches. As we welcome avery in his new role, we are excited to witness the transformative power of poetry in our library branches and beyond.
CPL Commissioner Chris Brown
Chicago is one of the greatest cities in the world for arts and culture—and our working artists generate millions in economic revenue for the city. But the performing arts community in Chicago, like countless others worldwide, endured immense challenges during the pandemic.
For the past three years, DCASE has held convenings with the arts community that have helped shape the City’s ongoing support of the sector through financial grants, new collaborations with philanthropy, marketing campaigns, and wrap-around supports for theater and other creative workers.
In 2023, the Department in partnership with SMU DataArts released “Navigating Recovery: Arts and Culture Financial and Operating Trends in Chicago”—a comprehensive report on the health of the local art sector before, during, and emerging from the pandemic. The report reveals that as Chicago’s economy has broadly seen steady progress toward a post-pandemic recovery, the nonprofit theater sector still faces many challenges.
In the summer, Mayor Johnson hosted a listening session with industry stakeholders, which led to a theater advisory committee—and then, in collaboration with Choose Chicago, the League of Chicago Theatres, and others, DCASE launched a marketing campaign claiming Fall as “Theater Season” in Chicago. Utilizing digital, radio, and out of home advertising, #TheaterSeason is a powerful call-to-action for locals and visitors, and part of the City’s multifaceted efforts to uplift the sector. We also produced a series of six videos spotlighting real audience members sharing their theater experiences.
For details, visit Chicago.gov/DCASE and TheaterSeason.com.
In this challenging time recovering from the pandemic, all these artists that bring the vibrancy of our stories to life and give us real shared experiences in community need our support. This initiative from Choose Chicago, Mayor Brandon Johnson, DCASE, and the League will help people remember the joy in coming together.
Marissa Lynn Jones, Executive Director of the League of Chicago Theatres
In 2023, the State of Illinois announced record-breaking economic impact of nearly $700 million in film expenditures, over 90% of which was driven by the City of Chicago and supported by the Chicago Film Office though permits, city services, and production support. Highly rated and award-winning episodic television series such as NBC’s One Chicago shows (Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, Chicago Med), The Bear, and others represented the largest portion these projects.
The Film Office, together with its partners the Illinois Film Office, World Business Chicago, Illinois Production Alliance, and others championed the industry through marketing campaigns such as a special features package in the “Oscars” edition of Variety and convened industry stakeholders to further bolster the industry. Projects like The Fields Studios, set to open in spring 2024, were announced with the support of City and State.
In May, the WGA announced a general strike with SAG-AFTRA following suit in July. Most scripted production was paused during a challenging 7-month stoppage which created economic hardship for thousands of creative workers while their unions pressed for more equitable contracts. During this time the Film Office and DCASE assembled Creative Workers Resources, helped launch the Chicago Alliance of Film Festivals along with FACETS to support Chicago’s vibrant and diverse ecosystem of 50+ film festivals, and launched advertising and sponsored content in AdAge with its partners to help lure more commercial production to the City and State. Commercial production is a major sector of film and TV that was not affected by the strikes.
With the return of production in December and the renewal of most all of Chicago’s long-running series as well as several new ones, Chicago is well-positioned to continue its rise as a major hub of production and original content. The Film Office convened subsectors of the industry and community to lay groundwork for new initiatives to support youth, independent filmmakers, and the film festival ecosystem as we enter 2024.
The Chicago Film Office additionally partnered with dozens of local festivals and arts organizations to present 39 film screenings and industry events attended by 50,000 people.
To learn more, visit ChicagoFilmOffice.us.
In the last decade we’ve had so much success and growth. Together with the Chicago Film Office, Illinois Film Office, and other partners, we’re building on the legacy that’s created a lot of tremendous television.
Christine Dudley, Executive Director of the Illinois Production Alliance (IPA)
Our programs serve Chicagoans and visitors of all ages and backgrounds, downtown and in diverse communities across our city—to strengthen and celebrate Chicago.
In 2023, we saw record attendance at the Chicago Jazz Festival with 170,000 visitors over four days, and increased attendance at the Gospel Music Festival. (In fact, attendance tripled to 9,500 guests due in part to enhanced community outreach efforts.) Alongside favorites such as SummerDance and the World Music Festival, Taste of Chicago continued its expansion into neighborhoods with 10,500 attendees total at Taste events in Humboldt Park, Pullman Park, and Marquette Park. At the downtown Taste, we collaborated with the Chicago Independent Venue League to support local music. And the 110th Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony presented by Powering Chicago in Millennium Park drew a combined audience of 70,000 people watching in-person, on CBS 2, or via livestreams.
Additionally, DCASE issued 571 special event permits and, produced dozens of Chicago City Markets presented by Humana. A special USDA-funded advertising campaign urged Chicagoans to “Refresh How You Shop Fresh” at neighborhood City Markets—and a tourism marketing campaign supported by the State of Illinois encouraged visitors to “Stay Awhile” to enjoy hundreds of free DCASE events.
To learn more, visit Chicago.gov/DCASE and MillenniumPark.org.
The independent venue scene in Chicago is known to be the best in the world, so we are proud to collaborate with DCASE to bring CIVL’s legacy of amazing performances to the Taste of Chicago’s Goose Island Stage this year.
Chicago Independent Venue League (CIVL) Executive Director Nick Heineman
2023 was a rebuilding year coming out of the pandemic, with increasingly more public programming throughout the year across the Chicago Cultural Center. Exhibitions showcased the best of our city’s vibrant arts and culture scene, as well as artistry from around the world. All told, DCASE attracted 300,000 visitors to 11 Chicago Cultural Center exhibitions and related programs. Highlights included:
A new series of Open Houses and “Under the Dome” concerts at the Cultural Center welcomed even more Chicagoans and visitors alike—as did free film screenings, tours, talks, and dance programming.
To learn more, visit Chicago.gov/DCASE and ChicagoCulturalCenter.org.
*Includes carryover from 2022 ARP recovery funds
Our Cultural Advisory Council met quarterly, and advised the Commissioner and senior team in their efforts to support creatives and drive meaningful impact. Advisory Council members were embedded in specific projects throughout the year and played a critically important role as ambassadors to raise awareness of DCASE resources and opportunities for the cultural community.
This hard-working and talented team of 82 creative workers (as of 12/31/2023) fulfills the mission of DCASE on a daily basis.