FINAL WEEK OF I USED TO LIVE IN CHICAGO AT BLANC GALLERY CELEBRATES LEGACY, MEMORY, AND COMMUNITY
- 3 days ago
- 1 min read
The final week of I Used to Live in Chicago at Blanc Gallery in Bronzeville brings a powerful close to one of the season’s most resonant exhibitions, culminating with two special public programs before the exhibition ends May 24. An innovative dialogue In Conversation with the Work will take place on Tuesday, May 19 from 6 - 9 pm., followed by the Film Screening and Community Forum: What We Built, featuring a screening of the classic film set in Chicago, Cooley High on May 21 from 6 - 9 pm.
Curated by Anefertiti Bowman, the multidisciplinary exhibition explores memory, displacement, and cultural resilience across Chicago’s historic Black neighborhoods. The exhibition unites acclaimed contemporary artists Norman Teague, Max Sansing, and Steve Bravo alongside elder Chicago artists Sura Dupart, Tyrue “Slang” Jones, and Patric McCoy in a rare intergenerational dialogue grounded in lived experience and cultural memory.
The exhibition reflects the depth of Chicago’s Black artistic legacy through mural-scale painting, sculptural work, furniture and object-based design, and graphic storytelling. Teague’s work is featured in the forthcoming Obama Presidential Center (OPC), while Sansing’s celebrated works appear in collections and public spaces nationwide.
At its core, I Used to Live in Chicago is both a love letter and a reckoning — affirming the histories, neighborhoods, and communities that continue to shape the city. Works from the exhibition remain available for purchase through the close of the show.