Our Mission:
Cultivate.
Art of Culture cultivates creativity to empower young visionaries, amplify community voice, and build pathways that expand possibility—transforming culture into legacy.
Our Vision:
We are building a future led by bold young people—artists, innovators, and cultural leaders—who reimagine what is possible.
Through creative infrastructure and meaningful partnerships, Art of Culture fuels opportunity, strengthens communities, and cultivates intergenerational impact.
Raised Voices
Art as a bridge. In partnership with artists throughout the African diaspora, Rhymefest and Art of Culture created original work rooted in storytelling and cultural exchange.
Sunday Service
Art of Culture, in partnership with Gary Comer Youth Center, bring 200 youth to attend Kanye West’s Sunday Service concert for an afternoon of music and fellowship
Our Impact:
Art of Culture translates vision into action.
Through partnerships across arts, education, and community sectors, we collaborate with more than 25 key partners, deliver curriculum-based creative programming, and support emerging artists in building confidence, leadership, and real-world opportunity.
Our work activates imagination as a driver of problem-solving, self-expression, healing, and future readiness—creating impact that extends locally, nationally, and globally.
25+
PARTNERSHIPS
We have collaborated with over 25 local, national & global partners including the City of Chicago, Amnesty International and Roc Nation. Click here to learn more.
30 million+
IMPRESSIONS
We have garnered over 30 million impressions and have been featured in radio, tv and print publications. We use social media to amplify the voices of our artists, provide access to opportunities and to advocate for the power of imagination. Follow us on Instagram here.
1000+
youth served.
We have directly served over 1000 youth and impacted over 10,000 in our ten years of service. Read more about our impact here.
Smiling Eyes
Award-Winning Chicago Producer, Toxic (l)
Art of Culture President & CEO, Heather (c)
Chicago Hip Hop Artist & Producer, Twista (r)
For more info on our Smiling Eyes program click here
Our Programs
Our programs include Bridges to the Blues, which culminates in a performance at the World’s Largest Historic Chicago Blues Festival, Teens in the Park Festival (TIP) Fest, our music festival for Chicago Youth co-produced with Chicago Park District and our Artist Exchange Program launching in December of 2019.
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June 9, 2019
“In the past five years, I have provided marketing, branding strategy, event planning, and production services for several artists, brands, organizations, and creatives in Chicago and beyond. Our work with Donda’s House opened doors for me and brought me into rooms I never dreamed I would enter. We facilitated workshops at Social Media Week Chicago and I helped procure a Facebook Stories mini-documentary about us.”
Kelsey Riley / Read Full Article
Get Involved
We host volunteer orientations digitally regularly. Once you complete a Volunteer Orientation you are eligible to volunteer in any capacity with us. Email us at connect@artofculture.org to be notified of upcoming Volunteer Orientations.
Sign Up For a Program
Our programs typically run in the Spring - Fall. If you are interested in signing up for our programs you must be ages 14 - 24. Click the button below to learn about our programs and join our mailing list at the bottom of this page to be notified of application deadlines.
SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
We have partnered with local and global organizations and are always seeking partners who are interested in Corporate Social Responsibility. Click the link below to view our past and current partners and e-mail: connect@artofculture.org to inquire about sponsorship opportunities.
Make a Donation
We are proud to offer our programs at no cost to our participants. Thanks to the generous donation of individuals, we have been able to directly impact the lives of 1000+ artists. Your donation allows us to continue to support young creatives in Chicago & beyond.