In this episode of Notes from Chicago, host Ashley Phillips talks with Isis Ferguson (Senior Director of Engagement & Partnerships) and Alyssa Gregory (Marketing Manager) of Arts + Public Life, a University of Chicago initiative rooted in Washington Park that connects, supports, and amplifies South Side artists and culture.

Isis and Alyssa break down the four venues that make up Arts + Public Life and the layered history of jazz clubs, theaters, and creative life that once lived on that same block. They dig into Never So Free, a queer Black art and assembly project built around space-making and community history; the Southside Home Movie Project, a striking archive of donated home movies stretching back decades; and the Choreographic Arts Program, which connects young dancers to Chicago's footwork and majorette history.

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