Black artists aim to build community with Chicago Heights gallery
CHICAGO HEIGHTS, Ill. (CBS) – As we celebrate Black History Month and artists who are changing history, CBS 2 headed to the south suburbs.
CBS 2's Ryan Baker recently met a young gallery director who is using art to help build community in Chicago Heights.
"It's interesting to see how things have changed in the neighborhood," said Julian Graham. "But also it's a source of pride to be in Chicago Heights."
Union Street Gallery is a source of pride and surprise. Graham, the gallery director, says "he get's it."
Baker: "When I think of art, I don't think of Chicago Heights. Is this a surprise to a lot of folks that a space like this exists here?"
Graham: "All the time. We get a lot of new visitors who walk in and they're just like, 'Wow I live around the corner. I live up the street and I didn't even know this was here."
Graham, 27, showed CBS 2 around on a recent visit.
"We have two floors of gallery space," he said. "We have tons of studio spaces here. We have a classroom. We're pretty versatile.
"That encompasses the whole package."
There is all kinds of creativity at the gallery. Upstairs, you'll find pastel artist Jean Lewis, who's only been in her studio for a year, but she absolutely loves working there.
"The creative juices are flowing no matter where you go in this building, and up here especially," Lewis said. "There's a variety of creatives, jewelry, and if you've been down the hall, people working in textiles. Everybody is focused on their craft. It's just a good group of people."
And did we mention Graham is an accomplished photographer?
"Sometimes, I might have a direction that I want to go in, but I kind of never know where I'm gonna go, so I just lean in to the not knowing," Graham said.
One thing Graham knows for sure: he wants to help revitalize Chicago Heights.
"It seems like a lot of businesses over the years have fallen to the wayside," he said. "Maybe part is the lack of attention the area is getting."
But this photog is focusing on the positives through his lens.
"When I think of hubs in Chicago Heights, I think of Prairie State College, I think of the library," he said. "There's a lot of cool stuff our here, a lot of history."
Baker is actually a part of that Chicago Heights history. He was born right across the way at the now torn down St. James Hospital and went to church up the street at Saint Bethel. His grandparents lived around the block from the gallery.
Baker: "So to see this space was here, this is incredible. Like, wow, it's my old stomping ground. Hopefully your art will imitate life in 'the Heights,' as we called it."
Graham: "Yeah in 'the Heights.'"
Baker: "That's how you know you're from here. You're from 'the Heights.'"
Graham added, "I would like to be recognized more in the state, and maybe the country at some point. I feel like the sky's the limit."
You can find the Union Street Gallery at 1527 Otto Boulevard in Chicago Heights.
The gallery hosts regular events and classes. For more information, visit UnionStreetGallery.org and to see more of Graham's photography, check out JulesAlexander.co.
