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Chicago Human Rhythm Project

National Public Housing Museum

Praize Productions, Inc.

Puerto Rican Arts Alliance

Four Chicago nonprofit organizations have been granted funding and resources to present free public programming as part of Millennium Park’s robust summer season

CHICAGO—The City of Chicago and the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) are pleased to announce the inaugural Millennium Park Residency Program (MPRP), providing select cultural organizations each year the resources and platform to showcase their work as part of Millennium Park’s robust summer season of free programming. For the first MPRP cohort, DCASE is excited to announce partnerships with The Chicago Human Rhythm Project, The National Public Housing Museum, Praize Productions, Inc., and the Puerto Rican Arts Alliance. These four nonprofit organizations share DCASE’s commitment to providing high quality work, and will be curating unique and innovative programming throughout Millennium Park in 2023.

“This residency program will provide our creative community with incredible opportunities to share their talent with the rest of our city," said Chicago Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot. "Providing our local creatives with the funding to bring their fresh perspectives and ideas to life on Chicago's largest stage reiterates our commitment to empowering our arts and culture sector, and will ultimately make our city that much more vibrant. I am excited to see what each organization in the first MPRP cohort will create alongside the wealth of free performances and concerts in Millennium Park this summer."

With the support of the Millennium Park Foundation and Pritzker Foundation, DCASE has provided four grants of up to $150,000 to each participating nonprofit cultural organization.

As part of the residency, each company will present a free public program on the Jay Pritzker Pavilion stage: Praize Productions, Inc. (June 4); Chicago Human Rhythm Project (July 23); National Public Housing Museum (August 25) and Puerto Rican Arts Alliance (August 26). Each company will have access to other park cultural amenities to curate, develop, and produce additional free public pop-up programs throughout the summer.

Additional programming details to be released in the coming weeks when the full Millennium Park Summer Season schedule is released. Visit millenniumpark.org for updates.

“It is an honor to partner with these four important and beloved Chicago organizations. This new residency program will help to diversify the roster of free programs and events that will enliven our downtown and city this summer,” shared DCASE Commissioner Erin Harkey. “We look forward to sharing their programs with the public, and connecting their missions to the millions of people who visit Millennium Park.”

Meet the 2023 MPRP Cohort

Chicago Human Rhythm Project, chicagotap.org

Celebrating its 35th anniversary season, Chicago Human Rhythm Project (CHRP) presents American tap and contemporary percussive arts in world class, innovative performance, education and community development programs. CHRP celebrates the primal impulse to make rhythm by bringing together diverse communities to share a joyous and universal form of expression. They present American Tap, African, Native American, Indian, Mexican Folkloric, Irish Step, Japanese Taiko, Spanish flamenco and other rhythm-centric dance and music forms that both honor tradition and bring it forward. CHRP’s five core programs include: STOMPING GROUNDS, a Citywide celebration of percussive dance; Rhythm World, Chicago’s International Festival of American Tap; the Mayfair Arts Center, a shared education-business development center in Calumet Heights; We All Got Rhythm, free and affordable arts education programs in Chicago Public Schools; and, Stone Soup Rhythms, their project based tap dance collective.

As part of CHRP’s July 23rd Jay Pritzker Pavilion performance, they are collaborating with Natya Dance Theatre, Chicago Dance Crash, Collaborative Institute of Cultural Arts and Ayodele Drum & Dance.

National Public Housing Museum, nphm.org

Over the past century, more than 10 million people across the United States have called public housing home. In the late 1990s, as thousands of public housing units across the country were being demolished, public housing residents began to dream about creating a museum to preserve their collective voices, memories, and the histories of public housing across the nation. They wanted their children and grandchildren, and the public at large, to know more about their place in the American experience and to understand the public policies that helped to shape their families. In 2007, civic leaders, preservationists, historians, cultural experts, and many others joined with residents to help incorporate the National Public Housing Museum, which has since then offered transformative programs that connect the past with contemporary issues of social justice and human rights. The Museum's permanent home is under construction at the historic Jane Addams Homes at 1322 W. Taylor St. in Chicago's Near West Side and is set to open to the public in early 2024.

Praize Productions, Inc., praizeproductions.com

Praize Productions, Inc., (PPI) is a not-for-profit, 501(c)3, organization housed on the South Side of Chicago. PPI is comprised of three platforms: RIZE Pro-Elite professional dance company and RIZE Youth Company; PPI’s Performing Arts Academy; and its outreach programs. Known for its award-winning and thought-provoking theatrical productions, PPI curates professional, arts-based programming and events that amplify the voices and narratives of Black artists and communities via professional platforms, while purposefully maintaining the richness of community connectedness.  PPI's unique approach to artistry is holistic in style for they wish to develop the full artist by infusing both social and educational approaches rooted in social consciousness.  

Puerto Rican Arts Alliance, praachicago.org

The Puerto Rican Arts Alliance (PRAA) is a community-based nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving Puerto Rican culture by maintaining traditions, showcasing Puerto Rican arts and music, providing music and arts educational programming, and cultivating pride in Puerto Rican heritage. Anchored in Chicago, PRAA is a vibrant, 25-year-old music and arts nonprofit organization that develops culturally enriching and transforming programs, performances, exhibitions, and events inspiring 30,000 annually while encouraging future generations to grow appreciation for Puerto Rican heritage and culture. Founded in 1998, in the Humboldt Park neighborhood, by Carlos Hernandez and other Puerto Rican leaders who did not see their culture and experiences represented by existing arts institutions, PRAA has worked to forge a creative path to bring new awareness, understanding, and appreciation to the artistic expressions of Puerto Rico. PRAA aligns and enhance heritage-based programs and events by providing music and arts education opportunities in areas where there are few resources for arts learning. By using Puerto Rican/Latino heritage as a way to start conversations about cultural identity, community, and the arts PRAA's culturally rich programs offer opportunities for children, youth, and adults to experience their own heritage and share it with others. PRAA is a cultural resource for Chicago's Latino communities, providing access to heritage-based programs, events, and exhibitions.

As part of its Millennium Park residency, PRAA will be partnering with Cuerdas Clásicas, AfriCaribe, and Chicago Philharmonic Society.

Applications for 2024 Millennium Park Residency Now Open

DCASE is looking for organizations to partner with for the next 2023-2024 Millennium Park Residency Program (MPRP), with public performances to take place Summer 2024. MPRP is intended to help support each organization’s goals to expand audience, increase visibility, encourage artistic experimentation, strengthen the cultural sector, and improve the quality and level of future artistic and creative productions. Any interested Chicago nonprofit cultural organizations can apply at ChicagoCulturalGrants.org.

The Millennium Park Residency Program is supported in part by funding from the Pritzker Foundation and the Millennium Park Foundation.

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About Millennium Park
Millennium Park is the #1 attraction in the Midwest and among the top ten most-visited sites in the United States. It is also the anchor of an urban cultural campus (Millennium Park Campus) that includes the Chicago Cultural Center, Maggie Daley Park and The Art Institute of Chicago. Millennium Park is located on Michigan Avenue, bordered by Randolph St. to the north, Columbus Dr. to the east and Monroe St. to the south. The Park is open 6am–11pm daily. For information about American Sign Language, Open Captioning and other accessibility services at events please visit MillenniumPark.org -> Accessibility.

For the latest news and events, visit millenniumpark.org, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and Instagram, @Millennium_Park.

Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events
The City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) supports artists and cultural organizations, invests in the creative economy, and expands access and participation in the arts throughout Chicago’s 77 neighborhoods. As a collaborative cultural presenter, arts funder, and advocate for creative workers, our programs and events serve Chicagoans and visitors of all ages and backgrounds, downtown and in diverse communities across our city — to strengthen and celebrate Chicago. DCASE produces some of the city’s most iconic festivals, markets, events, and exhibitions at the Chicago Cultural Center, Millennium Park, and in communities across the city — serving a local and global audience of 25 million people. The Department offers cultural grants and resources, manages public art, supports TV and film production and other creative industries, and permits special events throughout Chicago. For details, visit Chicago.gov/DCASE and stay connected via our newsletters and social media.

DCASE programming is supported by the Chicago Transit Authority.

Millennium Park Foundation
The Millennium Park Foundation, a private, philanthropic not-for-profit partner, was created in 1998 to support the City of Chicago’s efforts in the design, construction and management of Millennium Park. It is the steward of Millennium Park’s internationally-recognized icons and public features. These include the prestigious Jay Pritzker Pavilion and dramatic BP Pedestrian Bridge, world-renowned Cloud Gate and Lurie Garden, iconic Crown Fountain, and exquisite Boeing Galleries for public art exhibitions. Through its ongoing development initiatives, the Millennium Park Foundation is dedicated to keeping Millennium Park a free and accessible venue for all Chicagoans today, and for generations to come.