County invests in suburban art groups

Key Takeaways

Chicago is renowned for its arts and culture: It is home to one of the oldest and largest museums in the nation, has a lively theater scene and is widely considered to be the birthplace of improvisational comedy. Now, Cook County, Ill. is working to cultivate an arts community outside city lines.

During the coronavirus pandemic, when the federal government provided localities with relief funding, Cook County set aside $5 million in American Rescue Plan Act dollars to establish Cook County Arts in the hopes of mitigating the pandemic’s blow to the arts and culture sector, and building avenues to strengthen the arts in the county’s suburban areas long-term, according to Christine Nappo, director of sector strategies for Cook County Bureau of Economic Development.

“The arts sector was the first to close and the last to open [during COVID-19],” Nappo said. “We had not invested in the arts, and given that dire need, we wanted to find a series of investments that would help holistically support this sector.”

Cook County Arts’ first initiative was to distribute $790,000 among 100 suburban art nonprofits, with micro-grants ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 per organization. Art funding in the area has been historically concentrated in the city of Chicago, so the county set funding aside specifically for the surrounding suburbs, according to Irene Sherr, deputy bureau chief of the Cook County Bureau of Economic Development.

“One of the things we’ve observed across the county is that, in many cases, the ecosystems in the suburbs are just not as sophisticated, they’re not as developed,” Sherr said. “There are the same number of people that live in suburban Cook [County] that live in the city of Chicago … and the county has not previously invested in support of the arts in any way at all.”

Cook County Arts’ next phase of funding is being distributed through its Creative Placemaking program. While the nonprofit relief grants were created out of urgency, this new funding stream is intended to have “long-term, permanent impact” and be a pathway to community development, according to Sherr.

“This is at the intersection of community revitalization and art,” Nappo said. “It’s an improvement in quality of life, bringing people together. It’s a very unique concept and very much in demand.”

In July 2025, the county economic development bureau awarded Creative Placemaking grants ranging from $50,000 to $250,000 to 14 of the more than 100 organizations that applied. Thirteen projects are moving forward, according to Nappo.

“In the beginning, we were like, ‘Do you think we’ll get any applications?’” Sherr said. “So, we were really surprised, and it proves the point of the absolute need in suburban Cook [County] for this type of support and these types of opportunities for the creative sector.”

The Creative Placemaking grantees function as a cohort, which meets monthly to exchange ideas, discuss best practices and address challenges. National and regional subject matter experts are also brought in to provide technical assistance in fine-tuning project plans and budgets, according to Nappo.

“The cohort is helpful, because we have such disparate expertise in the awardees,” Nappo said. “So, bringing everyone together and learning from each other and from the experts, who will be providing leadership and guidance, is integral to the success of the program.”

One of the grant recipients, the Homewood Science Center, is supporting its installations, which include a pollinator garden and bird exhibit, through the funding. High school students on a STEAM (Science Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) Team are also helping design a new mural.

“I feel like this project is an opportunity to collaborate with artists, with youth, with educators,” Edie Dobrez, executive director Homewood Science Center Executive, told Cook County. “And really get the community more involved in deciding what is done here, instead of it just being executive director-driven or board-driven.

“It’s more inclusive. Community ownership is one of the more powerful outcomes of creative placemaking.”

Brookfield Shops, another Cook County Arts Creative Placemaking grant recipient, is using the funding to hire local artists to create display panels, improve landscaping and build an outdoor stage for performances.

“By activating the Brookfield Shops space through art, we’re not only adding beauty,” Brookfield Manager Village Manager Tim Wiberg told Cook County. “We’re creating connection, an opportunity for artists to shine and for residents to experience something vibrant and meaningful.”

Illustrator Vivian Piña, one of the featured artists, painted a community park onto her panel.  “I painted Kiwanis Park because it was my favorite place growing up,” Piña told Cook County. “I want my daughters to have a public space where children are seen, respected and able to play and learn together.”

A team member working on one of the Creative Placemaking projects noted how, in the wake of the pandemic, there’s been a large uptick in participation for their arts and culture events, which speaks to a broader collective desire to share ideas and experiences together, Nappo said.  

Art “brings people together,” Sherr said. “It can be a unifier in a way that nothing else is, I think, and sometimes it can cross boundaries that normally separate people. We’re done with Covid, and there was isolation then, but the current climate we’re in with the country and the world, people are feeling isolated, and need a sense of community as well, so I think it’s still really relevant.”