Pilsen Arts: Rooted in Mexico, Open to the World
Maureen Kelleher
Published: July 15, 2009
Pilsen, known for years as the capital of Mexican arts and culture in the Midwest, is diversifying its cultural scene while holding fast to its Mexican identity. The National Museum of Mexican Art still anchors the neighborhood. But Pilsen’s thriving community arts scene also has a wide variety of smaller venues where you can find veteran and emerging artists from Chicago, Mexico, around the country, and around the world.
To get a feel for the West Pilsen arts community, here’s a sampling of some of the neighborhood’s artists, galleries, and arts programs.
Colby Gallery
In the five-plus years she’s lived in Pilsen, Colby Luckenbill, owner of Colby Gallery at 1626 W. 18th Street, has already put down roots. She serves as a community representative on the Cooper Elementary Local School Council and has been involved with the Pilsen Open Studios art-space tour since its inception six years ago.
Dedicated to representing local and international artists working in media ranging from watercolors to photography to prints, Luckenbill’s gallery includes exhibits of Mexican artists and work from across Latin America as well as Europe. “It’s a cultural exchange, showing local artists and artists from around the world,” she says.
Luckenbill sees her artistic and community work as intertwined. Her gallery “encourages civic activity, networking, and inspiration,” all of which were in evidence in the space during last October’s Pilsen Open Studios. “Art helps to connect the heart and the head,” she says. “We need that in all aspects of life.”
Golden Age Gallery
Co-owned by artists Marco Kane Braunschweiler and Martine Syms, Golden Age Gallery at 1744 W. 18th St. showcases experimental music and limited-edition art books. The site offers has both inexpensive retail items and high-end artworks, giving artists wider exposure than they might receive in a traditional gallery setting. “As a retail store, we have a really high volume compared to a gallery,” says Braunshweiler. “We have 500 items. A gallery might only have 10 items.”
Less than two years old, Golden Age received a warm welcome when Braunschweiler and Syms moved to Pilsen. “When we started last year it was really really well received, and it’s only getting better,” Braunschweiler says. “The larger mission of this store is to develop an emerging artists’ network.”
From the get-go, Golden Age’s owners have been flexing their networking muscles. While searching for storefront space, they consulted with Irasema Salinas-Gonzalez, owner of the virtual bookstore Tianguis and impresario of Radio Arte’s spoken-word series Proyecto Latina. “Pilsen is a really nice place, especially right now,” says Braunschweiler. “So many new things are happening and so many young people are coming, and yet it’s such an established art center, with all the murals and the museum.”
With all of Pilsen’s success comes the threat of changing the neighborhood’s fundamental character. Braunschweiler hopes to start a conversation with artists and others about how to prevent rising rents and property taxes from forcing out less wealthy residents, including artists themselves. “That’s the big ruse: artists benefit from gentrification,” he argues. “It’s inevitable Pilsen will not be in 10 years what it is now. The real problem is institutionalized racism. Gentrification is an aspect of that. The most important thing right now is to open a dialogue. That’s why we’re trying to be a part of the Pilsen art world.”
Pros Arts Studio
For Giselle Mercier, recently becoming executive director of Pros Arts Studio was a homecoming to Pilsen. Mercier grew up in Panama and came to the United States in the early 1980s. One of her first jobs was working at the Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum, now the National Museum of Mexican Art. Since then she has taught at the Art Institute of Chicago and Columbia College.
In Residency at Dvorak Park (1119 W Cullerton), Pros Arts Studio is a multi-arts, community-based organization linking local artists and residents in Pilsen. Started in 1978, the group started as a single studio operation and today offers free programs in the visual, media, and performing arts at over 20 community centers and schools.
Merceir’s own work is grounded in her immigrant experience. She often reuses the same objects in piece after piece. “I do a lot of work that has to do with rebuilding memory,” she said. “If you become displaced, objects can give you back roots.”
Art House Studio
South and west of 18th Street’s bustling gallery, café, and restaurant scene, Pilsen’s Art House Studio is a quiet outpost of beauty at 2246 S. Coulter, not far from the historic Heart of Italy strip at 24th and Oakley.
The Art House is a live-work space shared by Brazilian women artists who open their space formally on the fourth Saturday afternoon of every month and informally from time to time to get to know their neighbors and introduce them to their work. In this way, the Art House has become both a local community hub and a bridge for art and ideas to travel into and out of the neighborhood. During the 2008 Pilsen Open Studios, Patricia Peixoto and Magda Dejose exhibited peephole installations exploring femininity and a set of paintings commemorating the 100th anniversary of Japanese immigration to Brazil.
This article is based on items previously published on Community Beat, a group blog about neighborhood development in Chicago.
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