Info — ROMAN SUSAN

ROMAN SUSAN ART FOUNDATION celebrates and shares the work of artists in the Great Lakes region. We create cultural engagements that provide resources and paid opportunities for artists. We are Chicago-based. We are artist-led. We are experimental and learning.

Roman Susan maintains four ongoing programs: ANNEX develops site-responsive projects in collaboration with nonprofits and domestic spaces; AUX provides administrative support to help artist-run initiatives realize their work; Navigations are artist-led projects in and about public space; 4750 N Sheridan Road is a media room and workspace within the landmarked Mutual Insurance Building in the Uptown neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. 1224 W Loyola Ave was a storefront art space that shared 186 artist-led projects from 2012 to 2025. Join our newsletter for programming updates.

Roman Susan accepts artist proposals year-round. Public feedback guides our ongoing work. Since 2012, Roman Susan has been organized and run with significant help from family, friends, neighborhood volunteers, and participating artists. In 2016, Roman Susan incorporated as a nonprofit organization, receiving 501(c)3 tax-exempt status as a public charity. Roman Susan Art Foundation NFP will continue to operate as an artist-run organization. The directors for the organization in 2025 are Bimbola Akinbola, Joanna Furnans, Chloe Johnston, Julia Klein, and Juan Molina Hernández. Ruth Hodgins, Siobhan Leonard, Angela Lopez, Joelle Mercedes, José Santiago Pérez, Madhuri Shukla, Tracy Taylor, Polly Yates, and Gwyneth Zeleny Anderson are past directors. Nathan Abhalter Smith is the Managing Director. Kristin Abhalter Smith is the founder and Executive Director. The organization is named after the founder’s grandparents, Roman and Susan Lewandowski.

Street view of projected moving image work by Paige Taul. Through storefront windows, black and white video shows a face from the bridge of the nose to the chin, facing left. The projected image fills the window space.

It makes me wanna by Paige Taul at 1224 W Loyola Ave, June 2020.

4750 N Sheridan Road has a 24/7 lobby with front desk services, and the building facilities are ADA accessible. This space is open by appointment. 4750 is located at the intersection of the 81 Lawrence and 151 Sheridan bus lines. There is a Divvy bike-share hub on the Northeast corner of Sheridan and Lawrence, and metered parking is available on the surrounding streets. This location is 325 meters east of the Lawrence Red Line Station.

In recent years it has become a trend to acknowledge traditional homelands of the indigenous peoples of a particular area through a land acknowledgment. This type of activity is designed to bring more awareness and understanding of the history of indigenous peoples and their territories. But a land acknowledgment should also be more than that; it should be a call to rethink one’s own relationship with the environment and the histories of all peoples. In partnership, the American Indian Center and Roman Susan Art Foundation have crafted the following land acknowledgment to help all rethink their relationships with the city, the land and the environment. This acknowledgment demonstrates a commitment to beginning the process of working to dismantle the ongoing legacies of settler colonialism.

LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT. IN RECENT YEARS IT HAS BECOME A TREND TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE TRADITIONAL HOMELANDS OF THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES OF A PARTICULAR AREA THROUGH A LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT. THIS TYPE OF ACTIVITY IS DESIGNED TO BRING MORE AWARENESS AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE HISTORY OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND THEIR TERRITORIES. BUT A LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT SHOULD ALSO BE MORE THAN THAT; IT SHOULD BE A CALL TO RETHINK ONE’S OWN RELATIONSHIP WITH THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE HISTORIES OF ALL PEOPLES. IN PARTNERSHIP, THE AMERICAN INDIAN CENTER AND ROMAN SUSAN ART FOUNDATION HAVE CRAFTED THE FOLLOWING LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT TO HELP ALL RETHINK THEIR RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE CITY, THE LAND AND THE ENVIRONMENT. THIS ACKNOWLEDGMENT DEMONSTRATES A COMMITMENT TO BEGINNING THE PROCESS OF WORKING TO DISMANTLE THE ONGOING LEGACIES OF SETTLER COLONIALISM. CHICAGO IS THE TRADITIONAL HOMELANDS OF THE COUNCIL OF THE THREE FIRES: THE ODAWA, OJIBWE AND POTAWATOMI NATIONS. MANY OTHER TRIBES LIKE THE MIAMI, HO-CHUNK, MENOMINEE, SAC AND FOX ALSO CALLED THIS AREA HOME. LOCATED AT THE INTERSECTION OF SEVERAL GREAT WATERWAYS, THE LAND NATURALLY BECAME A SITE OF TRAVEL AND HEALING FOR MANY TRIBES. AMERICAN INDIANS CONTINUE TO CALL THIS AREA HOME AND NOW CHICAGO IS HOME TO THE SIXTH LARGEST URBAN AMERICAN INDIAN COMMUNITY THAT STILL PRACTICES THEIR HERITAGE, TRADITIONS AND CARE FOR THE LAND AND WATERWAYS. TODAY, CHICAGO CONTINUES TO BE A PLACE THAT CALLS MANY PEOPLE FROM DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS TO LIVE AND GATHER HERE. DESPITE THE MANY CHANGES THE CITY HAS EXPERIENCED, BOTH OUR AMERICAN INDIAN AND ROGERS PARK COMMUNITY SEE THE IMPORTANCE OF THE LAND AND THIS PLACE THAT HAS ALWAYS BEEN A CITY HOME TO MANY DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS AND PERSPECTIVES.

Roman Susan programs are partially supported by grants from the Illinois Arts Council Agency; CityArts grants from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events; Arts Work Fund; Cliff Dwellers Arts Foundation; Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation; Richard H. Driehaus Foundation; Reva and David Logan Foundation; Teiger Foundation; Artspace Immersion with funding from Good Chaos; as well as in-kind support from Cargo Collective; Chicago Park District; and Lawyers for the Creative Arts. Past programs have received support from AD3 Innovation Bootcamp; a Chicago Arts Recovery Program grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events; Crossroads Fund; Graham Foundation Bookshop; Hyde Park Art Center’s Artists Run Chicago Fund in partnership with Art Design Chicago; and MacArthur Funds for Culture, Equity, and the Arts.

Roman Susan is a W.A.G.E. Certified Institution.

If you have the means to do so, please consider supporting our work by visiting romansusan.org/support.