Arts of Life

ART on THE MART's 2020 projection City Circle Heart featured work created by five studio artists from Arts of Life, a Chicago-based non-profit organization that provides artists with intellectual and developmental disabilities a space to expand their practice and strengthen their leadership. 

The projection featured a compilation of colorful, abstract images that were knitted together in a dynamic moving image display that attracted people of all abilities to appreciate the movement, colors, and unique soundscape of the work along Chicago's Riverwalk. Participating artists included Marcelo Añón, Veronica Cuculich, Stefan Harhaj, Hector Jones, and Maria Vanik, with motion graphics by Lisa Armstrong and sound design by Chris Kalis.

Arts of Life is a 501(c)3 non-profit founded in January 2000 with a shared vision: to create a working, person-centric, artistic community while providing a work environment of equality in Chicago. Motivated by founding artist Veronica Cuculich along with two co-directors Arts of Life brought nine other individuals with developmental disabilities to create the organization we are today. Our shared vision grew from a passion for artistic expression and a need for an alternative system.

For artists at Arts of Life, a career in the visual arts is an opportunity for meaningful employment. Each artist has their own studio space and works independently from individualized project plans or receives 1:1 visual arts facilitation to increase their artistic skill set. Artists earn a monthly stipend for participation in the program with eligibility to receive bonuses based on personal annual art sales.

Today, Arts of Life offers professional art studios and represents over 60 artists with varying levels of physical and intellectual disabilities. Each studio is 6,000 square feet and includes a community gallery that is open to the public.