ABLE (Artist Breaking Limits and Expectations) uses theater to engage people who have intellectual or developmental disabilities. The organization has had a wait list for participants and their project will start “In the Wings” that will give those on the waitlist an introduction and chance to begin learning before there are openings in the company program.

ableensemble.com 

America Scores Chicago will extend their program, Literacy in Action, into summer. They teach poetry and soccer to ages K through 8th grade. They have writing coaches and soccer coaches and Innovation 80’s grant will fund a teaching artist to help the children turn their poetry (including hip hop) into some form of visual art.

chicagoscores.org 

APTP (Albany Park Theater Project) trains youth from Albany Park to create professional-quality plays with themes relevant to their lives. Two years of interviews of local residents will inform a production that explores immigration experiences. Actors will interact with audiences through four apartments (stages) created in a warehouse.

aptpchicago.org 

CWCMC (Chicago West Community Music Center) is one of our few minority-led organizations. They are committed to providing high quality music education. Their string instruction has included piano and harp and they have taken their orchestra to perform abroad. Innovation 80’s grant will fund a pilot “Laptop Orchestra” program to teach making music by computers.

cwcmc.org

Free Street Theater has two centers 57 blocks apart on Ashland Ave: one in Pulaski Park and one in Back of the Yards. Online this year, the two collaborated. “57 Blocks” will continue this collaboration, performing on a bus they are acquiring that will travel between the centers, bringing theater to audiences in these neighborhoods.

freestreet.org 

Global Girls Inc. brings programs that engage students in stories, dance and singing for females of color, ages 5 to 18. Innovation 80 will fund a pilot program, “My First Show,” which will engage very young children in five South Side daycare centers. The focus is on developing self-confidence, the ability to present before an audience, and pride in who they are.

globalgirlsinc.org 

Intonation Music partners with 6 public schools in Bronzeville, grades 3-12, with programs year-round. Curriculum includes pop music and digital music making. Their instructor to student ratio is 1:6 and students play in 12-person bands. The Innovation 80 grant will allow them to expand into two more schools.

intonationmusic.org 

MUSIC (Music in Urban Schools Inspiring Change) will partner with a local church in North Lawndale, which will provide space for a new Suzuki violin program for 6- to 8-year olds. MUSIC just finished its 5-year term supported by Springboard, which helps grow small start-ups engaging underserved populations. Innovation 80 partners with Springboard.

musicincchicago.org 

Snow City Arts brings arts to children in hospitals (and back at home if they cannot yet go back to school upon discharge). Innovation 80’s support will allow them to provide this service for the pediatric and burns units at Cook County Hospital, which has recognized the need and has asked Snow City to provide.

snowcityarts.org

Theatre Y is an innovative theatre company in process of moving into North Lawndale, with plans to build a community center for the arts there. Innovation 80 will fund a pilot puppetry program designed by a nationally-known puppeteer and led by a local community organizer. It will engage local youth for a high-quality production.

theater-y.com