Help Sustain Project Onward: Keep 60+ Artists Creating in Chicago

For over 20 years, Project Onward has been a vital creative home for artists with mental illnesses and developmental disabilities in Chicago. But today, we’re at a sensitive moment and could use your help. Your support can help sustain our studio, so we can continue to thrive for another 20 years and beyond!

Who We Are

Since launching in 2004, Project Onward has worked as a studio and gallery for over 100 adult artists creating in a wide variety of media. We provide workspaces, materials, and mentorship free of charge, as well as helping members navigate practical challenges - offering counseling and support with transportation, housing, and managing benefits.

Some artists in our community are self-taught, others formally trained—but all are deeply committed to their practice. Many live on limited incomes and would not otherwise have access to the resources we provide. At Project Onward, they are not defined by their challenges but by their artistic visions.

In this studio, our members:

-Develop confidence and independence as artists

-Build artistic careers through sales and exhibitions

-Form lifelong friendships

-Make connections with the broader community

-Challenge preconceptions about people with disabilities and mental illnesses

Why We Need Support Now

Like other small arts organizations across the nation, we’ve struggled after several critical grants were lost and, over time, many hardworking staff were let go. In addition, we’ve made hard choices, including closing our ceramics studio. We’re also actively working on solutions that will strengthen our sustainability - new grants, partnerships, and sales strategies. We’re confident about the studio’s long-term future. But in the meantime, we could use support to maintain the level of excellence that we’ve offered our artists and the broader community for the past 20 years.

How Your Support Helps

Your donation directly funds:

-Studio rent and operational costs

-Art materials, tools, and technology

-Exhibitions, programming, and public engagement

Our ultimate goal is to raise $25,000 to support the next six months of operations as our long-term funding strategy gets underway. Your generosity ensures that our studio remains a consistent and supportive space for our artists during this transition.

If Project Onward’s mission resonates with you, we invite you to:

-Make a donation of any size

-Share this campaign with your community

-Help us continue creating opportunities for artists to thrive

Your support has a real and lasting impact. Art has the power to connect people, challenge perceptions, and inspire change. Thank you for helping us continue that work.