Dangerous. Poor. Blighted. These are just a few of the unfavorable words often used to describe Chicago’s South Side—especially the neighborhood of Englewood. The area’s high incidence of gun violence has been the subject of local and national news headlines, and Chicago was even referred to as a ‘war-torn country’ during a 2016 presidential debate.
This mirage of reporting and commentary on crime in some of Chicago’s predominantly African American neighborhoods does nothing to solve systemic social issues. What it does, however, is perpetuate negative imagery of minorities on the South Side. Although this is the Englewood the world sees, it’s not the one Tonika Lewis Johnson grew up in—or what she sees through her camera lens.
A combination of her “From the INside” and “Everyday Rituals” photo projects, “Everyday Englewood” was hosted at the Loyola University Museum of Art (LUMA) in 2018. The visually stunning photographs document daily life in Englewood, tenderly showcasing the resilience of urban Black culture in the area by portraying levity, triumph, joy and normalcy. They assert the divinity of regular people: the ones we pass on the street, sit next to on the bus, and see in the grocery store. They affirm the sanctity of everyday Black existence even while unveiling the cosmology that guides and informs it.
Press
Loyola Museum of Art | LUMA was proud to announce the addition of Everyday Englewood to its spring 2018 exhibitions, which it described as “addressing the perseverance of the human spirit in spite of adversity.” Read the whole release here.
Rainbowed | Tonika Lewis Johnson was interviewed for a profile that discussed the exhibition’s inspiration, her love for Englewood, and what’s next for the neighborhood. Read the piece here.
INside Artist Talk with Amanda Williams | Tonika Lewis Johnson joined fellow artist Amanda Williams for a discussion about the Everyday Englewood exhibit at Luma, as well as Johnson’s community work with the Resident Association of Greater Englewood. Click below to watch the video.
Additional Press: