34:. At the time of its founding in 2000, Arts of Life was the first program in Chicago to provide employment in the arts for adults with developmental disabilities. It has two studio and gallery locations that are each 6,000 square feet. The Chicago studio is located at 2010 West Carroll Avenue, in Chicago, Illinois and the North Shore studio is located at 1963 Johns Drive in Glenview, Illinois. The studio's artists work in various media, including painting, drawing, fibers, sculpture, music, and performance. As of 2021, the studio supports and provides services for over 60 artists.
47:. As an organization, Arts of Life focuses on inspiring artistic expression, helping artists build community, and promoting self-respect. Arts of Life artists and staff engage in collective decision-making on various aspects of the program including programming and the hiring of staff. The studio also assists artists in exhibiting and marketing their work.
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The affiliated gallery space for both studios, Circle
Contemporary, was founded in 2017. It is the only Chicago gallery dedicated to exhibiting the work of artists both with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities. Exhibitions are co-curated by guest curators from the wider arts
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As a progressive art studio, Arts of Life is an alternative day habilitation program, a support service model for individuals with developmental disabilities that provides training from staff in various occupational and daily living skills. Volunteers and staff facilitate the artists and offer
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instruction in art techniques and professional development. It was co-founded by Denise Fisher, the manager of a residential program for people with disabilities, and
Veronica "Ronnie" Cuculich, a resident in the program, as an alternative to limited job roles offered in
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The Arts of Life Band is a collaboration that features performers with and without disabilities. The band has released albums containing original songs and was included on a compilation album of music by bands with members who have disabilities,
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Arts of Life receives funding from the state of
Illinois, individual donors, grants, and foundations. The organization has partnerships with sponsoring businesses, professional artists, service providers, and brands, including the
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Works by artists from Arts of Life have been featured in galleries, museums, businesses, and government offices around the city of
Chicago and the United States, at locations including the Heaven Gallery, LVL3,
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in 2009. Similarly, artists at the North Shore studio and musicians without disabilities perform together as the band Van Go Go.
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494:"Art on the Mart Nightly Video Art Projection Changing Hours as it Announces Claude Monet and the Cosmos for the New Season"
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In 2020, a collaboration between Arts of Life artist David
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that provides studio space, supplies, professional development support, and exhibition opportunities to artists with
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323:"Nocturnal journal with Dave Hoekstra: Arts of Life: Promoting independence and self-respect though music and art"
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In 2020, Arts of Life artists contributed sculpture designs to
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The 2017 exhibition at the
Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art,
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