SkyART bills itself as the only free art program of its kind in Chicago, normally reaching some 3,600 youths ages 3 to 24, with programs in its facilities as well as at several dozen schools and community organizations.
When Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced his COVID-19 stay-at-home order on March 20, SkyART didn’t miss a beat. Realizing it could no longer offer classes and other programs at its South Side location, the non-profit art center immediately began helping its participants in other ways.
That very day, staffers scrounged together art materials from its studios and put together kits for use at home. They spread the word to some of the center’s regulars to stop by and pick up the supplies, and the offerings were depleted in minutes.
“We didn’t anticipate what the response would be,” said Devon VanHouten-Maldonado, assistant director of programs. “People came and lined up at the door and we ran out. And for us, it was like, ‘Wow, we need to keep doing this.’”
And that’s exactly what SkyART has done. In addition to taking some of its classes, art therapy and other programs online, a priority has been distributing more than 1,000 art kits to families as far south as 115th Street and as far north as Bronzeville.
“We’re a community organization on the front lines,” said executive director Sarah Ward. “We’ve always focused on being responsive to the community, and I think this pandemic has shown how responsive we are being without us really knowing it.”
Ward founded what was originally known as the South Chicago Art Center in 2001, teaching 18 students two days a week in a small rented studio. In 2015, it changed its name and moved into a 6,000-square-foot studio facility at 3026 E. 91st St., which includes three multipurpose art spaces, a computer lab and gallery.
