By Townhall Chicago News Staff
Mayor Brandon Johnson and Ald. Pat Dowell joined community members Thursday for a beam-raising ceremony at the South Side Community Art Center, marking a construction milestone in the institution’s $12.8 million expansion and renovation.
The project will preserve the nation’s oldest continuously operating Black art center while adding new space for exhibitions, education and archival storage in the Bronzeville neighborhood, according to an Oct. 23 mayor’s office news release.
“For 86 years, the South Side Community Art Center has been a space for Black artists to nurture their talents and create art that has redefined Chicago’s cultural landscape,” Johnson said in the release. “Today we are raising the steel that will secure the Art Center’s future and ensure artists continue to be supported, that our history is preserved, and new generations are inspired.”
The Johnson administration committed $5 million through the Neighborhood Opportunity Fund, administered by the Department of Planning and Development. Additional funding includes a $2 million grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and philanthropic support from the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation and Terra Foundation, according to the release.
“The South Side Community Art Center has long been an anchor in Bronzeville and an important part of the cultural legacy of the 3rd Ward,” Dowell said in the release. “This project honors that legacy while creating more space for artists, students, residents, and visitors.”
The project at 3827-3831 S. Michigan Ave. includes the rehabilitation of the center’s landmarked home and a 10,000-square-foot, three-story addition. The new wing will house galleries, archive and collection storage, meeting and classroom space and a new accessible entrance. Work on the existing building includes restoration of the Burroughs Gallery along with repairs to the cornice, windows, masonry and roof, all approved by the Landmarks Commission, according to the release.
“There’s a delicate balance between progress and preservation and this project achieves both, underscoring the center’s evolving legacy within an increasingly competitive cultural landscape,” DPD Commissioner Ciere Boatright said in the release.
The center was founded in 1940 with support from the Works Progress Administration’s Federal Art Project. Dr. Margaret Burroughs was among its founders. Community members raised funds to purchase the mansion at 3831 S. Michigan Ave., establishing a permanent home for the institution on the South Side.
“This beam raising brings us closer to realizing a long-held vision for the South Side Community Art Center,” executive director Monique Brinkman-Hill said in the release. “Our new and restored spaces will allow us to deepen our work, care for the collection entrusted to us, and welcome more people through our doors.”
The art center is both a designated Chicago Landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is the last of the WPA-era community art centers still operating in its original building.
Construction began in 2025, with completion expected in 2027, according to the release.
