$10,000 Julie Reynolds Shaw Memorial Award Announced

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Contact: Brian J. Foster Phone: (312) 445-2749 (office) / (773) 209-5749 (cell) Email: bfoster@urbangateways.org

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$10,000 Julie Reynolds Shaw Memorial Award Announced

Urban Gateways, a 53-year-old Chicago multidiscipline arts provider, announces that Samantha Hill is this year’s recipient of the Julie Reynolds Shaw Memorial Award. Celebrating the contributions of late Art Resources in Teaching Board Member Julie Reynolds Shaw, this Artist Commission is intended to advance a teaching artist’s professional practice while bringing value to the communities that Urban Gateways/A.R.T. serves. This artist commission will generate a lasting, positive impact for the people in the communities in which the artist chooses to work.

Ms. Hill’s project is entitled “Spirit of the Bronzeville Renaissance” and will document the stories of community organizers and entrepreneurs through photographs and oral narratives. Installations will be constructed at the Bronzeville Historical Society and the Hyde Park Art Center and solo art exhibits will be held at the Parkway Ballroom and Sacred Keepers Youth Garden.

Ms. Hill states, “The [Bronzeville] neighborhood is currently experiencing a re-genesis. Almost one hundred years ago, African Americans migrated to Bronzeville from the Deep South. The migration influenced Chicago culture through music, food and commerce. Today residents are generating innovative organizations and businesses engaging multiple topics including Art, Environmentalism, History and Tourism. It is for this reason I am developing an art project with the Bronzevile community to share the story of this Renaissance in a poetic and personal way for the public.”

A graduate of The School of the Art Institute with her Master of Fine Arts degree, Ms. Hill has also won the Archibald Motely Award, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago Trustee Merit Scholarship, the Harriet Saratin Travel Fellowship, the Philadelphia Sculptors Award, the Frieda Fehrenbacher Leadership Fellowship and the International Sculpture Center Award.

“The work resulting from this award beautifies and enhances the city, while leaving a meaningful memorial to a woman who was deeply passionate about art for children,” said Andy Shaw, husband of the late Mrs. Shaw.

Urban Gateways delivers high-quality, accessible arts experiences that advance students’ personal and academic growth. Professional artists engage Chicago’s youth in arts activities that build essential skills like creativity, collaboration and innovation, and improve their self-esteem and confidence necessary to succeed in life. Last year, Urban Gateways served 67,000 students through the arts. Check out our overview video.

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For more information on the award, Ms. Hill or Urban Gateways, please contact Brian Foster, Director of Marketing and Sales at Urban Gateways – (312) 445-2749 or bfoster@urbangateways.org.