North Lawndale's Urban Art Retreat ( UAR ) and Sisters' Place is seeking feedback from the LGBT community, a community it has reached out to since it came to Chicago in 1991.
UAR is a nonprofit entity that encourages people to examine issues such as race and sexual orientation in a violence-free space. Sisters' Place, a program of UAR, offers furnished, safe apartments for traveling women, or women in need of transitional housing. The organization, since its move to the South Side, doesn't feel the same closeness to the LGBT community it once served, and wants feedback as to what it can offer at its current location in order to reach out to the community once again.
UAR was founded in 1984 in Portland, Ore., by three artists and activists. A few years later, one of the founders, Dianna Long, moved to Chicago, brining UAR with her. Over the years, it had a variety of homes, mostly on the North Side. After years of having separate spaces for its art program and Sisters' Place, UAR moved into its current home in the North Lawndale neighborhood at 1957 S. Spaulding about four years ago.
The organization wanted to move to an area where it would have 'plenty to offer, and where people would be interested in what we are doing,' Long said. Many of UAR's volunteers are members of the North Lawndale community, and the organization currently focuses on inclusive and diverse programming that engages those living in the surrounding community.
'The response from the neighborhood was extremely positive, and continues to be so,' Long said. 'People are very welcoming. When we first moved it, people said, 'Oh, I'm so glad you moved here. I thought people had forgotten about us.''
When they first moved into North Lawndale, and went door to door, asking for feedback on the type of programming the community would like to see offered, nobody mentioned LGBT programming. 'However, in the past, a great deal of our programming was geared towards the gay and lesbian population, especially, if for no other reason, because of Sisters' Place,' Long said.
UAR has offered programs geared towards youth, Chicago Housing Authority residents, the LGBT and African American communities and many more over the years.
But lesbian programming was really the impetus for UAR being founded, Long said. In fact, Sisters' Place, which was around before UAR was even incorporated, has had a number of names over the years, such as Lesbian Boarding House and Portland Lesbian Hotel.
Long used to travel the States a lot with survivor and lesbian art shows, and advocated for people learning about art by underrepresented people. She preferred staying at a women's house instead of a hotel while she traveled, and the idea for Sisters' Place was born out of that.
In its early days, Sisters' Place had an activity called 'Lesbians Wishing Welcome' for lesbians new to town, or who had just come out of the closet. 'It had a lot of creatively around it,' Long said. Women involved in the national Lesbian Art Movement shows helped out with the parties and decorating the space. These Lesbian Art Movement shows took place for 13 years, and two of them took place in Chicago.
Some of the organization's plans and ideas include making a documentary video about the Lesbian Art Movement, a gardening group for LGBT people, as well as a Gertrude Stein Salon, a event once offered by UAR before, patterned after the salons artist Gertrude Stein offered in Paris. The Gertrude Stein Salon had a diverse group of participants, but Long would like to see its core group, gays and lesbians, involved in bringing it back.
'We want to hear from people,' Long said.
Long encourages the community to check out the space and let the organization know some of the things it would like to see offered. On Dec. 31, Sister's Place will hold a Lesbians' New Year's Eve event. The goal is to provide a comfortable, safe space for lesbians to mix and mingle, while ringing in the New Year. See www.sistersplacechicago.org for more information.
A group show of art by people affected by AIDS/HIV is currently showing at UAR through Jan. 26. The show is free on Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call 773-542-9126 to make an appointment or to volunteer.
Long encourages LGBT people to provide suggestions; e-mail her at sophiebella@sbcglobal.net . See www.urbanartretreat.com for more information.
