Cultural Institutions

photo credit Northwood Park Historical Society

The vision of the Norwood Park Historical Society (NPHS) is to be “recognized as a leader, educator, advocate, and resource” in the community of Norwood Park that “values and preserves its historic character and is acknowledged as an area of historical importance to the city of Chicago and the region.” To reach out to older adults, the NPHS launched Voices of Norwood Park, a personal-history project designed to educate older adults about methods for recording their histories and for collecting written and oral histories of their lives and times in Norwood Park. 

Norwood Park is one of the oldest, most distinctive, and historically important neighborhoods in the Chicago metropolitan area. NPHS was formed in 1973 to preserve Norwood Park’s history and promote community awareness. The Society has transformed the oldest house in Chicago, which serves as its offices, into a multipurpose community center with a museum and a café. Its museum focuses on Chicago’s far-northwest side and has a growing collection of historical artifacts and research materials.

photo credit Deeply Rooted Productions

Founded in 1995 by dancers Kevin Iega Jeff and Gary Abbott, Deeply Rooted Dance Theater teaches and performs dance as creative expression and community and spiritual healing. Jeff calls it “world class art from a grassroots perspective.”

Working within an African American dance aesthetic, Deeply Rooted explores topics as varied as the Somali civil war and famine, the quest to live in the face of AIDS, and early-twentieth-century African American cultures. Jeff and Abbott’s choreography stresses both technical virtuosity and the deep exploration of character and community. As one dancer explains regarding Deeply Rooted’s Life, which deals with personal struggles to live with AIDS, “I know I’m telling experiences of things I see every day. Right outside these doors, there’s some things about this piece that are going on.”

Partners for Livable Communities presents a PowerPoint presentation to accompany the 2012 Stories for Change report. This presentation is for community residents, city leaders, arts and cultural institutions, and many more to share the great stories of innovation and creativity featured in the Stories for Change report to begin discussions of reaching out to older adults and immigrants with the community.

Undoubtedly the turn of the 21^st century has been a crossroads for communities across America. Planners are becoming more uncertain of which road to take to towards livability, the latest and most thought out models of revitalization being thrown into disarray by constant redevelopments in technology and the unforseeable factors that mediate the outcome. But as the unfolding of the digital age propels us into the unknown, there is one thing that is certain—education is a key to building a more vibrant and sustainable community.

Entrepreneurial American Leadership Award

For her extensive career in the preservation and promotion of local arts, culture, and heritage for our diverse American population.