Hyde Park Art Center will host its latest Center Sunday, an all-ages program filled with art-making activities, workshops, and artist talks, held on the first Sunday of each month, February 7, from 1-4 p.m. virtually, via Zoom.

This month’s program will feature a Teen Takeover in support of the Art Center Teen Program’s upcoming exhibition Next Window, Please!, and include four segments of exhibition walkthroughs, artist talks, film screenings, and teen-led interviews, curated by the Art Center’s Youth Board of Artists, a core leadership group of the Teen Program.

The event is free and open to the public virtually via Zoom link, and pre-registration is required at https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUsduiqrjsrGd0mkFjvYOwk8JcfG5p4xfZy.

Monthly Center Sundays are curated by Ciera McKissick, Hyde Park Art Center Public Programs Coordinator, as a means of introducing the community to the myriad ongoing offerings at the Hyde Park Art Center for all ages, interests and skill levels; the February Center Sunday programming includes:

Virtual Walkthrough of Next Window, Please!
1-2 p.m.

A virtual walkthrough of the upcoming exhibition, which includes documentation of the community engaged work organized by the Art Center’s Youth Board of Artists this Summer. Every year at the Hyde Park Art Center, as part of its Teen Program, six professional artists mentor over 150 student artists to develop their artistic voices over the course of 30 weeks. During the 2019-2020 year, the young artists experienced the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the powerful wave of organized protests for racial justice that resulted from the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor, among many others. Works in Next Window, Please! document the days between March and May of 2020 from the perspective of young Chicago artists. The upcoming exhibitionNext Window, Please! is curated with the assistance of Mariela Acuna, Exhibitions and Residency Coordinator.

Artist Talk with Teen Artist Tzoe Rivera
2-2:30 p.m.

Attendees will learn more about the multi-disciplinary work of teen artist Tzoe Rivera, one of the teens showcased in Next Window, Please!, and gain insight into her interdisciplinary practice at the Art Center and at home.

Short Screening from Amir Johnson
2:30-3 p.m.

A screening of teen artist Amir Johnson’s short film followed by a talkback about his work.

The Teens Interview Walter Massey on “Navigating the Art World”
3-4 p.m.

A conversation between teen artists and Hyde Park Art Center Board Member Dr. Walter Massey, the former President and current Chancellor of the School of the Art Institute, on how to navigate the ins and outs of the art world.

About Teen Programs

Hyde Park Art Center teens represent over 20 high schools across Chicago, including: Amundsen HS, Carl Schurz HS, Chicago Virtual Charter, Dyett HS, Excel Academy Roseland, Hyde Park Academy HS, Johnson College Prep, Kenwood Academy, Lindblom HS, Lincoln Park HS, Little Black Pearl, Morgan Park Academy, Ogden HS, Simeon HS, St. Rita HS, St. Ignatius HS, Tilden HS, UIC Academy, Walter Payton HS, and Whitney Young HS. Guest speakers, visits from teen-program alumni, and field trips are common during teen programs at Hyde Park Art Center to expose students to the arts across Chicago.

About Center Sundays

Every first Sunday of the month and pre-COVID 19, Hyde Park Art Center was activated throughout the center for the public, neighbors, and families, with intergenerational art making activities, artist workshops, artist talks, open studios, curatorial tours of its exhibitions, community collaborations, music and small bites. Since the pandemic lockdown, Center Sundays have switched online, continuing with virtual interaction, engagement, and exchange with the public audience on the same day of each month. Center Sundays are free and open for all.

Official Website

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Tags: Amir Johnson, Center Sunday, Chicago, Ciera McKissick, Hyde Park, Hyde Park Art Center, Mariela Acuna, Teen Takeover, Tzoe Rivera, Walter Massey