Oral histories turned into collages express immigrant children ’s experiences in Chicago. Flipbooks reveal the multi-cultural faces of children in a Chicago kindergarten class. Photographs show the gentrification of communities. This is not your average art exhibit. Indivisible: Stories of Chicago Communities is a mixed-media display, a student art exhibit examining community, culture, gentrification, and cross-generational matters affecting today ’s Chicago Public Schools ’ classrooms, which includes works by kindergartners through high school students and incorporates artistic techniques ranging from photography and original music to puppetry and collage.

“The teachers involved in this exhibit use the creative process to integrate the arts into their social studies, reading, and writing lessons,” said Arnold Aprill, executive director of Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education (CAPE). “The students also enjoyed the opportunity to take a unique look at their family histories and community issues and the chance to work together as teams.”

The show was inspired by Indivisible: Stories of American Communities, an exhibit at the Terra Museum of American Art in the fall of 2000. Indivisible was a project of the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University in partnership with the Center for Creative Photography, the University of Arizona. Indivisible was funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts and was organized and circulated by the Center for Creative Photography, the University of Arizona. Additional support to increase access and educational opportunities was provided by The National Endowment for the Arts.

Related:

• Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education (CAPE) website
• Terra Foundation for American Art

Participating Chicago Public Schools: ACT Charter, Blaine Elementary, Michele Clark, Hawthorne, Healy Elementary, Jenner Elementary, Kinzie Elementary, Lakeview High, Mitchell, Murray Elementary, Northside College Prep, Ogden, Orozco, Ray Elementary, and Telpochcalli.

Indivisible is a project of the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University in partnership with the Center for Creative Photography, the University of Arizona. Indivisible is funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts and was organized and circulated by the Center for Creative Photography, the University of Arizona. Additional support to increase access and educational opportunities is provided by The National Endowment for the Arts.