CAC is a non-profit organization that supports contemporary Chicago artists and curators by offering residency programs, exhibitions, professional development, and resources that enable them to live, work and thrive in the city
Meet our Staff
Position: Executive Director / brookes[@]chicagoartistscoalition[.org]
Position: Manager of Communications and Resources / dana[@]chicagoartistscoalition[.org] / contact[@]chicagoartistscoalition[.org] (for CAC account or general Resources posting inquiries)
Position: Manager of Exhibitions and Residencies / fatima@chicagoartistscoalition.org
Bio: Fatima Hendricks (she/her/hers), is a dedicated and passionate advocate for the arts both as a whole and especially here in Chicago. A native of Atlanta, Georgia, she reallocated to Chicago to begin her matriculation through school. She graduated from the University of Chicago in 2022 with a B.A. in Cinema and Media Studies, with a focus on the historical narratives of Black film. Since graduating, she has worked with Arts + Public Life as the Exhibitions and Programming Coordinator, where she began as an intern in 2020. While at Arts + Public Life, Fatima worked directly with local artists, performers, and space-makers to create dynamic and impactful exhibitions and programming in the historic Washington Park district on Chicago’s South Side. She also works as the Gallery Manager and co-curator of NYCH Art Gallery in Pilsen, where she curated her first exhibit, “BLVCK X: Afrofuturism, in February 2023 for Black History Month. Fatima’s priority in all of her work is to amplify the voices of artists, develop programs that foster creativity and cultural engagement within the community, and create ethical and effective spaces for artists to be able to create and explore their interests to their fullest potential.
Meet our Board Of Directors
Position: Board Chair
Bio: Institute of Museum and Library Services
Position: Vice Chair
Bio: Senior Vice President, Private Client Advisor, Bank of America Private Bank
Position: Treasurer
Bio: Financial Consultant
Position: Director
Bio: President/Director, EXPO Chicago: The International Exposition of Contemporary & Modern Art
Position: Director
Bio: Partner, Cerity Partners
Position: Director
Bio: Partner, Taft
Position: Director
Bio: Founder/Director, PATRON Gallery
Position: Director
Bio: Regional Director, Phillips
Position: Director
Bio: Executive Director of Innovation Implementation & Head of Chicago for Braven
Position: Director
Bio: Director of ENGAGE Projects
Position: Director
Bio: Senior Vice President and Provost, Columbia College Chicago
Position: Director
Bio: Javier E. Otero is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Futurehaus, an award-winning Chicago-based creative studio focused on digital strategy and the design and development of apps and websites. With over 20 years of experience, Javier blends creativity with advanced technology to create impactful digital experiences. His work has been recognized by prestigious awards, including the Apple Design Award, Anthem Awards and Webby Awards, and has been featured in major publications such as CNBC, FastCompany, and Mashable. Javier holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration from Ringling College of Art and Design. He is a member of the 1871 LTNTech Founders Incubator and Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses.
Position: Director
Bio: Executive Director of the Office of Engagement, School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Position: Director
Bio: Laleh Motlagh لاله مطلق (b. Tabriz, Iran) is a Chicago-based artist and educator. Her work has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions at institutions such as Museo Universitario del Chopo (Mexico City, Mexico), EXPO (Chicago, USA), Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts (Chicago, USA), Chicago Artist Coalition (Chicago, USA), KHB Studios (Berlin, Germany), NAHR (Sotechiesta, Italy), Teufelsberg (Berlin, Germany), Gallery 400 (Chicago, USA), Sarv Gallery (Tehran, Iran), Farhang Gallery (Tabriz, Iran) among others. She has received multiple awards and recognitions including Individual Artists Program grant from the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, Newcity’s Breakout Artist, U.S. Fulbright Independent Artist Research grant, Provost’s Award for Graduate Research, and more. Motlagh received her MFA from the University of Illinois Chicago. She was a 2022-2023 BOLT resident.
Workplace: https://www.lalehmotlagh.com/
Bio: Erik L. Peterson is a public artist, nature playground designer and builder, and museum educator living and working in Chicago. He is best known for his large-scale urban interventions and neon installations (The Oasis, Inner State, and Seep), reclaimed wood public benches and nature playgrounds (Ashland, Mega-Chaise Lounges, and the We Grow Chicago Nature Park), signature edible ice cream sculptures (CreamCycle and Soft Palate), and public performances camouflaged within urban spaces (Checks and Balances, Two Tow'n, and Square Dance). His work subtly redefines viewers' relationships to their own vision and the spaces they inhabit, making the mundane magical and utilizing scale and surprise to re- work how we interact with each other and with the physical things in our world. His large-scale sculptures and performances encourage people to become active participants in the creation of their own public and civic spaces and suffuse public spaces with wry wit and radical hospitality. Additionally, Peterson is a founder of Hyde Park Kunstverein, a community museum and solo project space in Chicago and Qeej Hero, a trans-cultural video game starring the Hmong wind instrument called the qeej. As a Hatch artist and later Bolt resident, Peterson credits CAC with creating a forum that allowed his work to flourish after graduating with an MFA from UIC in 2010. The generous and creative community of artists, curators, writers and arts administrators at the Chicago Artists Coalition gave him the impetus and drive to continue to produce groundbreaking sculptures and drawings and stretch his artistic muscles, including with a solo project at the 2014 EXPO Chicago, a 40 foot long neon “ooze” called Seep, as well as his first solo gallery show, Dirt, with Bert Green Fine Art (Bert was a visiting studio visitor to the Bolt Residency in 2012). Peterson credits CAC with introducing him to many wonderful people, which in turn led to many long-lasting friendships with artists and curators in Chicago. Peterson is currently working on two large-scale public art commissions - Pop Art (Bubble) and Golden Truth - for the new Lawrence Avenue Arts Corridor in Uptown. Peterson loves hanging out with his amazing wife and daughter in Edgewater.
Workplace: eriklpeterson.com