“I remember when I had my opening, there were parents, there were kids, my friends were there. We need more space like that – multigenerational, diverse, and inviting. It was lovely.” –– hiba ali
“It's spaces like Roman Susan that inspire people to have generosity and care for their community.” –– Tallulah Cartalucca
“They've always put their money where their mouth is. It says a lot about their integrity. They have a strong connection with their neighborhood.” –– Julietta Cheung
“I think there's a lot of vision behind thinking about Roman Susan as a space for artists to respond to and make work in as a community-driven/community-driving kind of space.” –– Kandis Friesen
“There are many different sensibilities and communities of making that find themselves intersecting there, some more briefly and some more long-term. The word warm came up. There's something very warm about their whole project, their whole approach, it's very welcome.” –– Steven Husby
“I think Chicago is present in my work because, through the opportunities that I've had – that exhibition at Roman Susan – pushed me to expand my practice.” –– Juan Molina Hernández
“Bringing people together to witness art in this particular way was exciting. I can only say that it was really challenging just before that.” –– Kevin Norris
“I feel very lucky to be an artist in Chicago and be surrounded by people that I admire, that I want to collaborate with all the time, and that I can talk about our practices. Especially the crowd at Roman Susan.” –– Ruby Que
“Roman Susan is a true friend that artists can count on. Their working approach is artist centered and they can empathize directly with the concerns of artists. I had a lot of freedom to do exactly what I needed and wanted to do for this project.” –– Olive Stefanski
“It opened so many doors for my career to continue – to progress. It all came from that show at Roman Susan.” –– Chiffon Thomas
“The ethos of Roman Susan as a project aligns with how I think about making art in a place. There's mutual respect and genuine curiosity.” –– Gwyneth Zeleny Anderson
Full transcription of artist histories available through the linked names above. These discussions were organized by Marky Salvati, a 2025 Youth Fellow, partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council. Marky Salvati is currently based in Providence, RI. Interests include interactions in color transparency, material research, queer liberation, narrative and performance. He has exhibited at venues such as Color Club, CSI Project Space and the Evanston Art Center. Salvati received a BA in Sculpture and Ceramics from Loyola Chicago and is studying Glass at the Rhode Island School of Design.