CHICAGO – Nike and Rebuild Foundation hosted a Black History Month Celebration of Movement, Sport, and Culture at the Stony Island Arts Bank in the Greater Grand Crossing community on Saturday, February 22. Through an immersive day of exploration, Nike and Rebuild Foundation convened over 385 community members throughout the day for artist presentations, interactive exhibits, performances, and discussions that activate the Arts Bank’s collections, celebrate Black Movement, Sport, and Culture, and inspire the next generation of athletes and artists in the Greater Grand Crossing community and beyond.
In celebration of Chicago’s youth, Nike and Rebuild Foundation invited over 170 kids from South Shore Fine Arts Academy, Robert A Black Elementary and Middle School, Happiness Dance Club, Hyde Park Fencing, Inner-City Muslim Action Network, Little Black Pearl, Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts, My Hood, My Block, My City, Chicago Urban League, and local communities for guided audio tours of the Stony Island Arts Bank, a capoeira workshop and performance by the world-renown Hiplet Ballerinas, dancers from the Chicago Multi-Cultural Dance Center whose work fuses classical pointe technique, Hip-Hop and other urban dance styles.
Attendees also experienced an intimate panel with Olympian and activist Ibtihaj Muhammad, artist Shani Crowe, Founder of Project Swish McKinley Nelson, dancer and educator Imani Moon, and poet and coach Harold Green that explored Black culture through the lens of sport and movement and the unique connection that Chicago’s South Side has with these themes.
Throughout the day, guests were invited to explore and engage with selections from the Stony Island Arts Bank’s permanent collections that highlighted the importance of archives when exploring Black movement, culture, sport, and history.
About Rebuild Foundation
Rebuild Foundation is an arts, education and cultural development organization committed to transforming urban communities. Founded by artist Theaster Gates, the organization support artists and strengthens communities by providing free arts programming, creating new cultural amenities and developing affordable housing, studio and live-work spaces.
Photos courtesy of Nike.
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