Today, the National Trust for Historic Preservation announced that it will bring a Hands-On Preservation Experience (HOPE) Crew to the South Side Community Art Center (SSCAC) to perform important restoration work. South Side Community Art Center, named a National Treasure in 2017, is a groundbreaking institution that was instrumental in launching the careers of many nationally known African American artists when many galleries would not exhibit their work, including poet Gwendolyn Brooks—the first African American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize—and Life magazine photographer and filmmaker Gordon Parks.

Thanks to the partnership between the Fund II Foundation and the Trust’s African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund (AACHAF), a team of African American youth will gain valuable vocational experience while performing needed repairs at this iconic Chicago landmark. This activity comes on the heels of the recent news that SSCAC will receive $2 million in funding for capital improvements through a new Illinois spending bill.

“Since it opened in 1940, the South Side Community Art Center has been a cultural and artistic hub, closely tied to the story of the Great Migration, the Bronzeville community, and the power of art to inspire and empower generations of Chicagoans,” said Brent Leggs, executive director of the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund. “Bringing a HOPE Crew project here represents our ongoing commitment to promoting the proud history of this site, and to uplifting long-overlooked black history sites across the country.”

Over a period of several days, the HOPE Crew will conduct masonry cleaning work on the Center’s front façade under the direction of Tom Vacala with Restore Masonry and with overall guidance from Edward Torrez, National Trust advisor and architect and principal at Bauer Latoza Studio.

“Words cannot express the elation I have as the South Side Community Art Center begins the first phase of a much needed major restoration with support from the National Trust for Historic Preservation,” said Masequa Myers, executive director, South Side Community Art Center. “The window restoration and the HOPE Crew project will help ensure the staying power of our iconic institution; we are grateful.”

HOPE Crew was created by the National Trust in 2014 to provide young people preservation trades training in window restoration, masonry repair, and other skills at historic sites--primarily those located in national parks. The grant from Fund II Foundation enables HOPE Crew to expand beyond national parks to proactively engage diverse youth in preserving places tied to African American activism and achievement nationwide.

“For 77 years, the South Side Community Art Center has been a safe haven that enables the community to come, reflect, create and contribute, ultimately making a difference within the community it serves,” says Linda Wilson, executive director Fund II Foundation. “This preservation project ensures the center will continue to serve as a resource for the arts community for decades to come.”

Other HOPE Crew activities planned with Fund II Foundation support include preservation projects at the Pittsburgh home of author August Wilson and the home of John and Alice Coltrane in Long Island and six-week intensive internships for architecture students enrolled at two HBCUs—part of Fund II Foundation’s commitment to diversifying STEM fields of education.

SSCAC is also using grant funds awarded by the AACHAF in 2018 to begin the careful removal and restoration of the Center’s original windows. SSCAC's window restoration grant was part of the more than $1 million provided by the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund last year to support the preservation of sites and stories of black history. The next round of grants will be announced on July 5 at Essence Festival in New Orleans.

The AACHAF grant and the HOPE Crew project complement a broader effort between the National Trust and SSCAC, including planning the Center’s rehabilitation and expansion, securing its listing in the National Register of Historic Places, conducting an assessment of the building’s preservation needs, and developing a business sustainability plan with support from the Alphawood Foundation.

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About the National Trust for Historic Preservation

The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a privately funded nonprofit organization that works to save America’s historic places. National Treasures, the National Trust’s signature program, are a revolving portfolio of cherished and nationally significant historic places for which the organization deploys the full range of its preservation, advocacy, and public engagement resources to secure long-term sustainability. Since the start of the program in 2014, HOPE Crew has completed more than 165 projects, trained over 750 young people (including veterans) in preservation trades, performed more than $18 million of preservation work and recruited thousands of volunteers to protect places that are significant to their communities. For more information, visit: savingplaces.org | @savingplaces

About the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund

The African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund is a multi-year initiative led by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in partnership with the Ford Foundation, The JPB Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Open Society Foundations and other partners, working to make an important and lasting contribution to our cultural landscape by elevating the stories and places of African American achievement and activism. savingplaces.org/actionfund

About the Fund II Foundation

Fund II Foundation makes grants to 501 (c)3 public charities in five areas: 1) preserving the cultural richness of the African-American experience; 2) safeguarding human dignity by giving voice to the voiceless and promoting human rights; 3) conserving the environment, promoting the benefits of the great outdoors to people of all ages and backgrounds; 4) affording music education to nourish both talent and the soul; and 5) sustaining the American values of entrepreneurship, empowerment, and innovation. For more information, visit: fund2foundation.org | @Fund2F

About the South Side Community Art Center

South Side Community Art Center conserves, preserves and promotes the legacy and future of African American art and artists while educating the community on the value of art and culture. As the oldest independently owned African American art center in the USA and the longest standing Works Progress Administration (WPA) art center from 1940, SSCAC is prideful of its past and present contributions to social justice, the development and showcasing of emerging and established artists, providing gallery space, educational and art programs, as well as serving as a repository beacon for African American artists, collectors, scholars and the community. http://www.sscartcenter.org/