IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
OUR IMPACT
True Chicago was founded by David Johnson in 2017 as a means of challenging creatives to give of their knowledge and time to empower Chicago’s youth through creativity and the arts. True began as a community of artists working to create space for gathering young creatives and career mentorship. Through consistent investment in the future of young artists, True Chicago has built a space for growth grounded in community, that is producing award winning creative talent.
OUR HISTORY
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True Chicago exists to create an eco-system where young artists can take ownership over their creative future through mentorship and access to career knowledge that will not only support them as individuals, but will also have lasting investment into the health of their community.
THE VISION
sits high on the list of problems affecting Chicago’s black and brown youth in general, but especially in creativity and the arts. Black and brown youth are averaging 25-30 percent fewer arts credits than their white peers. These disparities have a lasting impact that stretches beyond high school and college.
in the creative industry, such as underfunded arts education, limited opportunities, and hiring biases, often sideline talented black and brown voices. We combat that by providing the artists with opportunities to launch their careers, including mentorship, collaboration, and help for Chicago artists to achieve their goals.
employed in advertising and public relations are Black or African American, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. To be more exact, only 3% of professional designers identify as Black, and only 10% identify as Brown.
WHY WE DO IT
OUR HISTORY
True Chicago was founded by David Johnson in 2017 as a means of challenging creatives to give of their knowledge and time to empower Chicago’s youth through creativity and the arts. True began as a community of artists working to create space for gathering young creatives and career mentorship. Through consistent investment in the future of young artists, True Chicago has built a space for growth grounded in community, that is producing award winning creative talent.
THE VISION
True Chicago exists to create an eco-system where young artists can take ownership over their creative future through mentorship and access to career knowledge that will not only support them as individuals, but will also have lasting investment into the health of their community.
WHY WE DO IT
LACK OF ACCESS AND OPPORTUNITY sits high on the list of problems affecting Chicago’s black and brown youth in general, but especially in creativity and the arts. Black and brown youth are averaging 25-30 percent fewer arts credits than their white peers. These disparities have a lasting impact that stretches beyond high school and college.
SYSTEMIC BARRIERS in the creative industry, such as underfunded arts education, limited opportunities, and hiring biases, often sideline talented black and brown voices. We combat that by providing the artists with opportunities to launch their careers, including mentorship, collaboration, and help for Chicago artists to achieve their goals.
ONLY 9.4% of all workers employed in advertising and public relations are Black or African American, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. To be more exact, only 3% of professional designers identify as Black, and only 10% identify as Brown.
THE APPROACH
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POWER
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Annual Conference
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True Socials
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Creators' Dinners
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Community Development
PURPOSE
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Mentorship
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Quarterly Portfolio/career
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One-on-one Sessions
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True Council
PATHWAYS
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Annual Conference
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Annual Mentorship Cohort
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True Council
The 3 Ps. The foundation of True Chicago programming. This approach allows us to tackle the problems Black and Brown youth are facing.
