Pastiché
April 1, 2020 to April 10, 2020
at 1224 W Loyola Ave, Chicago IL

On January 4 of this year, our friend and neighbor Ramona Marquitta Rouse passed away suddenly at her home in Lincoln Square. Ramona was a point of light on our block in Rogers Park, with a magnetic smile for us every time we overlapped in our next-door storefronts. Ramona operated Salon Pastiché as an independent salon in Rogers Park for 23 years at 1226 W Loyola Ave. She is missed in our neighborhood, and across Chicagoland.

In memory of Ramona, during the evenings of April 1 through April 10, Roman Susan Art Foundation will project solid fields of color at 1224 W Loyola Ave which approximate the tones of the neon light at Salon Pastiché.

Contributions made to Roman Susan Art Foundation NFP during the month of April will go toward a creative initiative in honor of Ramona Marquitta Rouse planned by her family. To make a direct contribution to this project, please visit: https://www.gofundme.com/f/family-of-ramona-rouse

“In honoring our mother, we are seeking to raise funds to try to open a space in Rogers Park for community members who are battling depression where they can drop in and engage in art therapy, and find respite from their pain. Ramona fiercely loved and supported those around her. It is our hope to honor her legacy by creating space for people to come and heal. All funds raised will either be used to secure space and equipment for a new therapy clinic, or will be used to donate to a mental health organization that integrates art and music in an effort to heal people who are in pain as our mother would have wanted.”

–Aina-soe Rouse Cambridge & Michael Rouse Simmons-Gessesse

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At Home Support

Roman Susan strives to support the work of the artists in our midst. With the broad social consequences of COVID-19, we are very grateful to everyone who supports one another through this exceptionally stressful time. Here are some of the ways Roman Susan is moving forward while preparing for the time we can gather together again and share artwork in person. As we cannot be close physically, let’s share this time and get closer in other ways.

This spring 1224 W Loyola Ave will feature new art installations and video projections while the space remains closed. These works are offered to our immediate neighbors, on view from the street. If you are not able to comfortably walk by our storefront from your residence, please enjoy these works from afar, through our website and on social media.

As always, we are doing our best to get resources into the hands of artists. Given the circumstances, Roman Susan wants to encourage and appeal to all of our fellow art organizers – commercial, corporate, collections-based, DIY, domestic, educational, inchoate, non-centered, unstructured, et al – please continue your support of artists while the doors have to close for a time. Though we cannot be open, we’re still working together. Thank you all for your support, please stay safe, and let’s take care of one another.

Image: photograph of Ramona by Kristyna Archer for the feature “Great Chicago hairstylists” published in Timeout, October 2012.

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Tags: Pastiché, Ramona Marquitta Rouse, Rogers Park, Roman Susan, Salon Pastiché