Chicago's Art Scene Grapples with Care, Precarity and Motherhood in Post-Pandemic Landscape

At Soldier Field stadium, Kanye West held a listening event for his Donda album, featuring a replica of his childhood home as a tribute to his mother. The next day marked the release of Nia DaCosta's Candyman film, which delves into memory through the lens of female characters and is set in Cabrini-Green. These summer happenings coincided with the creation of the first Chicago Arts Census, revealing significant economic struggles and burnout among local artists. This census, developed by Chicago art workers, highlighted the urgent need for new support systems. Criticism arose against major institutions like The Art Institute of Chicago for pandemic-related layoffs. The article also discusses the racial and class divisions in Chicago's art scene, linking back to historical redlining. In 2015, West was awarded an honorary doctorate by the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.