3418 W Armitage Ave Logan Square

Deanna Sortino

(Illinois Secondary Art Educator of the Year 2020) hails from Willow Springs, IL, and has been teaching for over 16 years with more than a decade focused on the digital arts at Niles West High School in Skokie, IL. She is a trained photographer and designer, who focuses on capturing the decisive moments, interesting lighting, and minimalism within her art. Her favorite form of photography is street photography, where you might see her transform into her alter ego, "Ninja Mouse" while out with her camera -- quickly capturing the scene as silent as a mouse. Ms. Sortino is also the Mini Portfolio Day Creator, SlideRoom/Scholarship Coordinator, Data Analysis Coordinator, Assistant Graphic Designer, Assistant Early College Program Coordinator, and Educator Art Throwdown Co-Creator for ArtConnectED (www.artconnected.org) which is an organization that connects students to millions of dollars of art college scholarships each year. She has also helped lead The Black & LatinX Creatives Matter Initiative Team for the IAEA by spending several months putting together a comprehensive list of over 700+ Black/LatinX creatives and anti-racist resources to share with teachers across the world. 

 

Kevin Holliday

 I am a freelance photographer/videographer and graphic designer, and stylist with a passion for all types of photography products, portraits, day to day , capturing authentic moments and creating compelling visuals. I am from Garfield Park on the west side of Chicago, IL that started taking photos in December 2019, then transitioned to filmmaking in 2023. When I capture photos and/or record videos I try my best to tell a story that one could either relate to or imagine. As of lately I’ve been creating more and more videos to show my different range of art which has been going in the right direction for me !

 

Randy William Santiago

An artist from Humboldt Park (back when it was the inner city you avoided). I say artist and not photographer because photography is a recent endeavor. As a kid, it was drawing. For most of my adult life, it's been writing. 

 

Art, to me, is about remembering - the good and the bad. Through this remembering, we learn to cope with the past and forge new futures. People are afraid to remember and that cultural amnesia is crippling. I was afraid for a long time because my past in the inner-city wasn't pretty. But it's mine and no one else can claim that. No one can claim my vision and perspective, which bleeds into these images, manifested as light and ink.

 

So here you have it: me; my light; my darkness."

Fulbright Scholar Spain | Periplus Fellow 2021

 

 

Q.J.

A Chicago born photographer focused on black and white film photography, developing and printing by hand in the darkroom. Most of their photographic subjects revolve around nature, capturing moments on road trips and odd abandoned things around the Midwest. 

 

Javier Delgado

I started photography during the pandemic when I wanted to learn a new skill and hobby and during that time, it greatly helped in reducing stress, tension, and anxiety and still does to this day. Working in the medical field, there are days that can be pressure filled, but having a creative and artistic side to my life has granted me peace and tranquility that I never thought was possible beforehand. With my photography, I attempt to capture subjects through different perspectives and highlights that would make the viewer think outside the box, especially when it comes to capturing photos of architecture in one of the famous cities in the world, Chicago. I hope to inspire and encourage others who also have the energy to be creative and instill optimism that they can achieve whatever they want to achieve or accomplish.

Karl Schmid

My art delves into the paradox of finding comfort in possessions during moments of stagnation. I depict the tension between clinging to material items for stability and recognizing their transient nature. Through my work, I invite viewers to contemplate the true source of solace: the journey towards self-discovery and acceptance.

 

Claire Witko

As a photographer, I prefer to examine subjects close up, to capture details and unexpected (or unexplored) beauty. My style is full of color and light, capturing bright and uplifting images that highlight joyfulness in the world around us. I am consistently drawn to color in everyday places and objects; wherever there is vibrancy in my surroundings, I want to preserve it and amplify it through my photography. While there's always incredible color to be found in nature, I find myself more often drawn to our built environment that's bursting with color. I am grateful to have won the People’s Choice Award for the 12th Annual Joseph Miller Abstract Photography Exhibit, and to have exhibited photographs in multiple shows along the East Coast, Arizona and Chicago.

 

Ivana Jarmon

A photographer based in Chicago, is deeply passionate about storytelling. Her work delves into themes that authentically capture and reflect the essence of Black culture, exploring vulnerability while celebrating the inherent beauty of the Black experience.

 

 

Julia Holcomb

Her first art "memory" was her mom and aunt going to her parent teacher night when she was in Pre-K. She'd colored a 3-inch rabbit 10 different colors. Her mom loved seeing the world through her eyes, and her aunt worried about her. Her first photography "memory" was growing up with her mom taking a million pictures of her with her Kodak SLR. Art has always brought a sense of joy to Julia's life, and she does not quite feel herself when she is not in some way immersed in it. Julia was raised back and forth between New York City and San Francisco, CA and feels she is a true hybrid of both places. The past 15 years, Chicago has been her home and the place that has reinvigorated her love for film photography. Julia has been an occupational therapist for almost 20 years and genuinely loves her work. However, Julia says her true passion is analogue photography. She has been shooting film for almost 25 years with hiatus' during that time, and Julia feels her analog photography is the one thing in her life that feels like it is just hers. Photography helps Julia to see beauty in the world. She loves to create with expired and experimental film, Polaroid's, plastic cameras, double exposures, film soup and film swaps. She also loves to showcase the beauty of Black women and girls just being. Julia is super grateful to every single person who takes the time to check out her art and dedicates this curated gallery of storytelling to her mom Kathleen, Aunt Libby and Lucrezia.

 

 

Tyler Conn

I am a photographer living in Chicago and I first picked up photography simply through taking pictures of interesting scenes that I encountered while traveling, but soon began to see everyday spaces through “a new lens” and enjoy finding new ways to capture them. As a self-taught photographer, I love constantly learning new techniques, tools and styles. When I’m not taking photos, I’m probably still sneaking a few photos while exploring the city, spending time by the lake, or traveling someplace new.

Instagram: @tyler.conn

​

Hemen Khanna

Is a 23-year-old film photographer from Portland, Oregon currently living in Chicago. Hemen’s journey as a photographer began when he moved to Cleveland, Ohio, in 2018 to study biology at Case Western Reserve University. After taking a film photography class for fun at Case Western, Hemen unearthed a passion for taking photos, developing film, and making prints in the darkroom. After four years, five classes, hundreds of darkroom hours, and countless prints later, Hemen graduated from Case Western in May of 2022 with a minor in photography to accompany his B.A. in Biology.

By the time Hemen graduated, photography had become more than a hobby. Photography had become a healing instrument for Hemen that helped him overcome a life-altering diagnosis of bipolar disorder and a constant battle with depression that defined his time in Cleveland. Taking photos and making prints gave Hemen a way to externalize thoughts and emotions he previously kept to himself, those that were often indescribable with words. In turn, much of Hemen’s student work focused on his perception of the world around him, including his struggle with bipolar disorder and the contrast between his life in an industrial Midwestern city and life in the Pacific Northwest.

On breaks from school, Hemen continued to use photography to externalize what he saw and felt in the world around him. During summers spent at home, Hemen was drawn towards the beauty of the Pacific Northwest, something he had taken for granted upon moving to Cleveland. Spending summers photographing the Oregon Coast, Olympic Mountains, and scenes of downtown Portland, Hemen built a passion for landscape photography and documenting his perception of the world around him. 

 

Ruth LaSure 

For many years I dabbled in family photography but I did not connect it to the all consuming passion that was my painting and printmaking. Change came when my son, Ross, gave me a cellphone with a decent camera within it. At the same time I had moved from the suburbs into Chicago. I had attended the American Academy of Art in the early eighties which enabled me to have a base of composition and color studies.  I felt that translated well  into my new found excitement for street photography as people going about their everyday life fascinated me as well as the heavy forms of bridges and parts of building in combinations of light and shadow moved me.
     I did take a small course in handling a DSLR camera while visiting friends in Delhi, India. Pivotal to my growth in shooting film for me was exploring some “meetup” groups in Chicago. Early on I did show some photos with a group called  Women in Focus, winning an award with an early photograph. I am still a part of this group and I have been showing more photographs in galleries within other group settings.