WHO WE ARE

The Children’s Gallery Chicago is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to expanding access to the arts for youth and families across Chicago, with special care to underserved communities. Our mission is to be a space that amplifies creativity, confidence, and connection by offering vibrant art programs that support Chicago youth not only as artists, but as the brilliant thinkers, leaders, and storytellers they already are.

Since June, we’ve been popping up across the city with free, high-quality art experiences for children and families — transforming libraries, parks, and neighborhood spaces into creative studios alive with color, laughter, and imagination.

This winter, we are focusing our efforts on two neighborhoods that have shaped Chicago’s history of creativity and resilience: Austin and North Lawndale. Both are rich in culture and community leadership, yet continue to face inequities in access to the arts. Through our Art in Motion: Made in Austin and our upcoming North Lawndale oral history project, we are creating spaces where youth and families can paint, dream, and build community together.

In Austin, we’re partnering with EarthPaint, an eco-conscious paint recycler, to transform reclaimed paint into public art and murals that celebrate neighborhood pride. In North Lawndale, we’re hosting storytelling-centered art pop-ups at Douglass Branch Library, UCAN, and Wintrust North Lawndale, culminating in youth-led exhibitions that uplift community memory and joy.

These twin efforts will build the foundation for our next step: an neighborhood collab project between Austin and North Lawndale that is intergenerational, healing, beautiful, and creative.

YOUR donation helps make this possible.

It keeps our pop-ups free, provides art supplies, add to stipends for our youth leaders, some as young as 13, and ensures every child who joins us has the tools to create something meaningful. And because TCGC knows how to stretch a dollar, your gift goes a long way, turning a single contribution into hundreds of beautiful moments of creative joy and community connection.

Every dollar adds color to our city and brightness to a child’s day. Together, we can make Chicago a canvas that belongs to everyone.

Thank you for your generosity and belief in this work.

xx The Children’s Gallery Chicago

Art In Motion Fundraiser

We transform libraries, parks, and community spaces into pop-up art studios, giving young people the tools to explore, imagine, and connect.