LIFE IN COLOR | NEW LIFE COVENANT CHURCH BLESSES ITS FUTURE GALLERY IN GRAND CROSSING

Pastor John Hannah's New Life Covenant Church is actualizing the creation of Life in Color Gallery in the city's Grand Crossing neighborhood.

A House Blessing ceremony marks the beginning of a new cultural chapter on Chicago's South Side

Before a single painting is hung or a sculpture placed, the floor of Life in Color Gallery was already carrying something sacred.

In a special ceremony, community members gathered at 7644 S. Greenwood Avenue in Chicago's Grand Crossing neighborhood to participate in an Art House Blessing — writing prayers and affirmations directly onto the floor before the permanent installation is laid. The gesture was intentional. Pastor John Hannah of New Life Covenant Church, which owns and will operate the gallery, told those assembled that visitors would be standing on the Word.

The gallery sits directly across the street from New Life Covenant Church Southeast, and the vision animating it is inseparable from the ministry that drives it. Pastor Hannah has long maintained that art is a powerful means of reaching young people, and Life in Color Gallery is an extension of that conviction. His goal is straightforward: to ensure that art has a place in all our homes.

Pastor Hannah and his wife are themselves serious collectors, with a substantial collection that includes works acquired across Africa. The church has also emerged as a steward of public art — in October 2024, New Life unveiled "The Movement," a 13-foot sculpture by Nigerian-born artist Abiola, described as a symbol of progress, unity, resilience and joy, and now among the largest outdoor sculptures in Chicago.

The gallery property itself is a three-story building with a basement slated for classes, a loft, and outdoor space that will feature both permanent and temporary exhibitions and murals. The space is designed to function not only as an exhibition venue but as a neighborhood gathering place — accessible to the community for events and programming.

 Daniel Hayes is director of the project and Kinidee Lanier serves as assistant director and interior designer of the space.  

Pigment International added its own inscription to the floor: a quote by Chicago artist Kerry James Marshall — Make work about things that matter.

Life in Color Gallery is a declaration — written in community, floor to ceiling — that art belongs to the people of Grand Crossing.

Follow Life in Color Gallery on Instagram: @lifeincolorartgallery for details on the opening.