'The future looks endless': Black Bronzeville curators create Fortunehouse, a gallery space for the community
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Young, Black and successful: Two young curators are changing the narrative and bringing art into the Bronzeville neighborhood.
They opened a Black-owned art gallery near 44th and Cottage Grove. CBS 2's Shardaa Gray takes us inside.
"He sold this piece earlier today."
Fortunehouse Bronzeville, an art gallery and event center is small and modest, but their pieces are bold.
"We're trying to create an environment that can be progressive for us Black people and the community overall."
As curators and entrepreneurs, 22-year-old Makafui Searcy and 20-year-old Ryel Williams came up with the idea to open a Black-owned art gallery at the age of 17 and 16-years old, while they were still in high school.
"For us, a ton of our peers are artist, entrepreneurs. The homie's got brands, the homie's releasing mixtapes, releasing songs," said Searcy.
For a couple of years, the friends would showcase artists at Airbnbs, but realized they needed a space of their own. With the help of Searcy's mom, they opened the Fortunehouse gallery in Bronzeville, near 44th and Cottage Grove, so South Side residents can view pieces from local Black artists.
"It's different when you can wake up and do the work in your community, compared to waking up and doing their work in their community," Williams said.
Searcy and Williams opened Fourtunehouse in 2017 with no specific location, but the art gallery opened June of this year.
"The future looks endless for us, you know. We're building a foundation, where I see it, as our kids having this pave on," Williams said.
Searcy and Williams said being young, Black and gifted is something they don't take for granted.
"Shoot, I'm still trying to get through my last semester at college. It is something to be said," Searcy said.
"Being young in this field of work, it's not looked as the norm for a 20-year-old and 22-year-old, young men to be doing this," Williams said.
Fortunehouse Bronzeville is open Wednesday through Friday 2:00 pm - 7:00 p.m., Saturday 2:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and Sunday 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
— fourtunehouse (@fourtunehouse) September 13, 2022