Producing Local Color

Art Networks in Ethnic Chicago

Diane Grams

• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Year: 2010
• Print ISBN: 9780226305172
• eBook ISBN: 9780226305233
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Ethnic Studies
• Index: Social Sciences

In big cities, major museums and elite galleries tend to dominate our idea of the art world. But beyond the cultural core ruled by these moneyed institutions and their patrons are vibrant, local communities of artists and art lovers operating beneath the high-culture radar. Producing Local Color is a guided tour of three such alternative worlds that thrive in the Chicago neighborhoods of Bronzeville, Pilsen, and Rogers Park.

These three neighborhoods are, respectively, historically African American, predominantly Mexican American, and proudly ethnically mixed. Drawing on her ethnographic research in each place, Diane Grams presents and analyzes the different kinds of networks of interest and support that sustain the making of art outside of the limelight. And she introduces us to the various individuals—from cutting-edge artists to collectors to municipal planners—who work together to develop their communities, honor their history, and enrich the experiences of their neighbors through art. Along with its novel insights into these little examined art worlds, Producing Local Color also provides a thought-provoking account of how urban neighborhoods change and grow.

Table of contents

• Contents
• List of Figures and Tables
• Preface
• Introduction
• One / Theory of Local Art Production Networks
• Two / Local Places
• Three / Community-Based Art and Ideologies of Local Participation
• Four / Aesthetic Networks and Cultural Capital
• Five / Autonomy Networks and Artistic Control
• Six / Problem-Solving Networks and Social Stability
• Seven / Gentrification Networks and the Whitewashing of Culture
• Eight / Empowerment Networks and the Restoration of Local Culture
• Nine / Post-Urban Culture?
• Interviews
• Notes
• References
• Index