Arts of Life, a Chicago-based organization supporting artists with intellectual and developmental disabilities, celebrates its 25th anniversary with the exhibition “Community on the Make: Arts of Life 2000-2025” at the Design Museum of Chicago. The show features vibrant works by 80 artists from five studios across Chicago and the North Shore, with pieces available for sale at affordable prices. Co-founded by executive director Denise Fisher and the late Veronica Cuculich, the organization provides artists with studio space, professional support, and income through stipends and sales bonuses.
The exhibition highlights the often-overlooked contributions of self-taught and disabled artists to the broader art world, challenging the exclusion of such voices from mainstream contemporary art. Arts of Life currently faces funding challenges, relying heavily on state Medicaid support and navigating shifting federal arts priorities, including the National Endowment for the Arts’ new focus on the U.S. semiquincentennial. The show underscores the importance of inclusive, community-driven art spaces and the ongoing fight for equitable funding and recognition.