This exhibition showcases artwork by 379 students in the classrooms of Intuit’s 2021–2022 Teacher Fellowship Program. The Teacher Fellows who are part of this program enable students to experiment with their creativity through the ethos that art can be made by anyone. Students experience the power of expression in a safe space, encouraged to explore their personal creative potential. Further, art teachers collaborate with colleagues of different subjects (math, speech, science, literature and special education) to build lesson plans that help students integrate the characteristics of self-taught art into cross-disciplinary learning.

Students transformed found and non-traditional materials into art pieces that reflect their personal visions and connect with their lived experiences. Young artists in Teacher Fellows’ classrooms were introduced to and inspired by self-taught artists Emery Blagdon, Eugene von Bruenchenhein, James Castle, Lee Godie, Lonnie Holley, Jesse Howard, Charlie Lucas, Kevin Sampson and Judith Scott and memory jars by anonymous artists.

Every year, this award-wining teacher professional development program reaches hundreds of students across Chicago. The 20 teachers and 11 schools in this year’s program came together from many neighborhoods and across the Chicago Public Schools network: Acero Victoria Soto High School, Azuela Elementary School, Beethoven Elementary School, Decatur Classical School, Foreman High School, Farvy Elementary School, Jahn School of Fine Art, Jordan Elementary School, Sabin Magnet School (4th and 7th/8th grades) and Walsh Elementary School, plus non-CPS school New Horizon Center.