Art 50 2022: Chicago's Visual Vanguard

Art 50 2022: Organizers and Arts Workers

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Kate Bowen, Alden Burke, Stephanie Koch, Adia Sykes and Tiffany Johnson
Lead Organizers and Programs Manager, Chicago Arts Census

The Chicago Arts Census is a collaborative, grass-roots, data-driven effort by and for Chicago area arts workers to expand equity, parity and access to material resources across Chicago’s arts landscape. Created by the people behind ACRE and Annas, the Census is a call to rethink how arts work is defined within public policy. The Census’ collection of data from arts workers will provide the basis for advocacy groups and organizations to generate funding and artist services throughout the area. ACRE will roll out findings from the Census survey over the next year, providing public access through a data visualization tool.

Art 50 2022: Directors and Administrators

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Kate Bowen
Executive Director, ACRE

“Surviving feels like a big deal after the past few years we’ve had,” says Kate Bowen. “Leading an organization through a lot of change has been a challenge that I’ve been grateful to have the opportunity to meet. Though difficult and complex it has been the great pleasure of my life.” Despite these challenges, Bowen, along with ACRE volunteers, staff, including development director Erin Nixon, and the board, have expanded its programming and reach, redistributing over $150,000 to artists—over half of its annual operating budget—in 2020 and 2021. Launching the Chicago Arts Census is part of the organization’s practice of care, and in the coming months, ACRE will begin processing its survey data, the first step toward a more equitable arts ecosystem.