De Nichols is a multi-hyphenate changemaker, a force for good and an ever-buzzing idea catalyst. She is an arts-based organizer, social impact designer, self-described serial entrepreneur, and keynote lecturer. Her impressive list of accomplishments and accolades is proof that she puts in the work, approaches it authentically, and delivers on an ever-growing vision to improve communities and systems…
“The National Youth Art Movement Against Gun Violence (NYAM) is the first non-profit project in Chicago and in the U.S. to use a combination of art activism, commercial billboards, and Augmented Reality technology for large-scale, youth-led campaigns for social good. Our art is mobile and interactive. Each piece is developed by youth between the ages…
The world sometimes works in mysterious, wonderful ways. Meeting Eric Benson, Co-founder of Fresh Press and Re-nourish, was one of those times in which lives connect across great distances and then circle back oddly close to home. A few summers ago I found myself at a professional crossroads, as a grant I’d been working with…
Matthew Hoffman is a Chicago-based artist & designer whose public works have been exhibited internationally. He’s created public installations for the City of Chicago, Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway Conservancy, Albright Knox Gallery, as well as companies like Apple, Facebook, Zappos, & Cards Against Humanity. There are close to 30 outdoor installations currently up in the…
Several years ago I passed by a wall that had a simple yet profound phrase that caught my eye: We All Live Here. Unimposing, in Helvetica-style font and all lowercase, but stopped me in my tracks and I took a photo. Without knowing its exact intention I began to consider all of the possibilities which,…
