Evanston Reparations Committee Holds Youth Art Contest

EVANSTON, IL — Young artists in Evanston have a chance to win cash prizes this month in an art contest.

The Evanston City Council's Reparations Committee and the Evanston Arts Council, a volunteer commission appointed by the mayor, are organizing the contest, city staff announced.

Art submissions can be any medium — whether visual, written or performance — as long as they respond to the question: "What comes to mind when you think of reparations?"

The Arts Council will select four winners who will each receive $200. Each will be recognized next month at its "A Bright Night for the Arts” event.

Aldermen voted in 2019 to establish a local reparations fund with tax revenue from recreational weed sales.

Earlier this year, the reparations committee selected the first 16 recipients of housing assistance grants of up to $25,000.

---

More than a hundred others have qualified for the grants after staff verified they are African American or Black and were Evanston residents between 1919 and 1969. Several hundred others have applied as their descendants.

But the city has not collected enough cannabis tax revenue, as stumbles by state regulators and court challenges have retarded the growth of the state's legal weed market.

This month's youth arts contest contest is open to Evanston residents or students at Evanston schools between the ages of 2 and 22, as well as Evanston youth organizations that cater to those under 22.

Submissions may be sent via email or delivered in person to the security desk at the ground floor of the Civic Center, 2100 Ridge Ave., by 4 p.m. on Oct. 12.

Each person or organization may only submit one entry, and digital files must not exceed 50 megabytes. Email submissions should have the subject line: "Evanston Youth, Reparations, and the Arts/[Artist's Name]."

Winners will be announced Oct. 22 at a town hall meeting hosted by the city from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Second Baptist Church, 1717 Benson Ave., with opportunities to attend via videoconference.

Speakers at the town hall will provide updates on the status of the reparations initiative and "provide the opportunity for continued learning," according to a description from city staff.

"The meeting will include a detailed presentation focused on understanding the larger reparations framework," it said, "and how the reparations experiences of other communities can inform Evanston's process."