Collaboration 3: Nico + Nikko Vocalo Interview→

“Play Together and the Merit School of Music teamed up with acclaimed Chicago musician Nico Segal and painter Nikko Washington to give Chicagoland kids the opportunity to create an original piece of music or art in collaboration with a professional.Segal and Washington stopped by the Vocalo studios this week to break down their role and how kids can get involved.” 

https://vocalo.org/nico-segal-nikko-washington-nudia/

Collaboration 3 on WTTW Chicago!→

https://news.wttw.com/2022/11/19/chicago-musician-and-artist-joining-together-inspire-next-generation

Musician Nico Segal and contemporary artist Nikko Washington are engaging young artists in a creative partnership with nonprofit Play Together. The collaboration is encouraging students to create either artwork or music based on prompts. 

For Washington, that’s a mural now up at the Merit School of Music, and for Segal, it’s a musical composition.

“I added a theme to it of this duality that I felt in his piece. There’s a character and a shadow like character,” Segal said. “So in my music piece, I added a second section that feels like a reprise of the first half of the piece. Nico and Nikko, there’s a lot of themes of duality that I wanted to showcase in the music.” 

“The mural itself I wanted to capture a young energy on where I was mentally as a kid and learning new stuff for painting or music techniques,” Washington said. “Wanted to show that energy in the form of interpreting music as paint strokes.”

Community Highlight - Snow City Arts

The Snow City Arts nonprofit organization is located near the west side of Chicago. Snow City Arts focuses on reaching patients at Rush University Children’s Hospital, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, and Children’s Hospital University of Illinois.

They provide programs for children such as:  Visual Art Education, Creative Writing, Dance, Theater and Music.  

Each child will typically have available to them a teaching artist to work with at their bedside. Snow City Arts was created to give children, who are not able to go to school due their sickness, educational and creative outlets and broaden their exposure to the arts and art culture. Snow City also provides virtual learning with step-by-step guides in workshop content.

If you are interested in supporting Snow City Arts, head over to snowcityarts.org to find ways you can help.

Community Highlight - 3Arts

The 3Arts nonprofit is located near the north side of Chicago. It is a creative arts organization with a mission to advocate for female artists, artists with disabilities, and artists of color who work in performance, teaching or visual arts.

3Arts assists creatives with project funding, professional development, promotion, and residency fellowships. Above all else, 3Arts values:

·         Creativity

·         Diversity

·         Community

·         Integrity

This nonprofit offers in-person or online programs for the deaf and disabled artists where new work, professional development, and advocacy for this culture is promoted and encouraged. This program also allows artists to expand their knowledge and meet fellow artists in Chicago’s disability community. Furthermore, 3Arts offers 4 different programs

·         3AP (3Arts Projects) – Crowdfunding with a match

·         Residency Fellowships – Uninterrupted time and space

·         3ER (3Arts Emergency Response) – Swift support to artists

·         Professional Development – Mentorship, workshops and more

Since 2007, 3Arts has been able to support more than 1,800 artists, representing 69% women, 71% artists of color, and 19% deaf and disabled.

Check out 3arts.org if you are interested in learning more about 3Arts, or supporting their mission.

Community Highlight - Arts of Life

Arts of Life will be hosting, “Wake Me Up” on March 25th - May 9th, 2022 at Circle Contemporary Chicago. The artists involved in “Wake Me Up” will be focusing on how patterns can be liberating, and constraining simultaneously. Viewers will be able to experience grids, rosettes, stripes, and polka dots like never before. For more info on viewing times, please head to artsoflife.org today.

The Arts of Life nonprofit organization is found near the west side of Chicago. Their mission is to provide artists with intellectual and developmental disabilities a space to create freely, and strengthen their leadership skills. The Arts of Life organization’s core values are as follows:

• Inspire Artistic Expression

• Build Community

• Promote Self-Respect

• Develop Independence

They accomplish the above by supporting creative decision-making, and creating a safe place to take risks while helping others build self-confidence and problem-solving skills. Within this community, the artists are accepted and encouraged to have a deeper understanding of who they are, trust their own judgment and take personal and artistic risks. Arts of Life has two professional art studios in the Chicagoland area and currently represent over 60 artists with different levels of physical and intellectual disabilities.

To help support the Arts of Life mission of putting inclusivity and creativity first go to artsoflife.org to donate today.

Community Highlight - Music Box Foundation

The Music Box Foundation is a nonprofit based on the South Side of Chicago. Its mission is to empower children and their communities through the medium of music. The Music Box Foundation offers tailor-made music programs to Chicagoland schools, park districts, and communities where little to none exist. These programs take place before, during, and after school hours and include:

• General Music

• Instrumental Theory

• Vocal Theory

• Video/Audio Recording Technology

• Visually Impaired and Special Needs Learning

a music box foundation instructor explaining guitar 101

They also offer summer camp programs to children who have an interest in the music industry. The ethos of the Music Box Foundation is to ignite a passion for music in students, and to learn how to work with their peers to initiate peace amongst one another. This nonprofit aids in helping students explore methods in which music impacts their lives, educates students in music theory, voice theory, and sound recording. They also work to expose students to a variety of music genres, and empower students to make well-informed decisions in pursuit of a career in the music industry.

To help educate and empower students, head to musicboxfoundation.org to donate.