Chicago Cultural Alliance

The Chicago Cultural Alliance (Alliance) is a consortium of community-based ethnic museums, cultural centers, and historical societies in the Chicago metropolitan area.

Incorporated in 2006, the mission of the Allliance is to "effect social change and public understanding of cultural diversity through first voice perspectives".^[1]

Background

The Alliance began through partnerships with ethnic and cultural organizations established at the Cultural Connections program at the Field Museum in the The Center for Cultural Understanding and Change (CCUC).^[2] The Alliance brings together ethnically grounded organizations in order to build relationships amongst the ethnic communities in Chicago, as well as asserting their existence to the wider public. Kerstin Lane, the first Alliance Board President, described the reasoning behind the creation of the organization: "a lot of people in Chicago have no idea there are little jewels of ethnic museums all over the city. When these museums can go out and tell the city, state and others, ‘We exist,’ then each of them will be strengthened."^[3]

Member Organizations

Core members

The Polish Museum of America was one of the founding members of the Chicago Cultural Alliance and continues to be one of its core members

.The Core Members of the Chicago Cultural Alliance are:

• American Indian Center
• Arab American Action Network
• Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture
• Brazilian Cultural Center of Chicago
• Bronzeville Children's Museum
• Bronzeville/Black Chicagoan Historical Society
• Cambodian American Heritage Museum and Killing Fields Memorial
• Casa Aztlán
• Chicago Japanese American Historical Society
• Chinese-American Museum of Chicago
• Filipino American Historical Society of Chicago
• Indo-American Heritage Museum
• Indo-American Center
• Institute of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture
• Irish American Heritage Center
• Italian Cultural Center at Casa Italia
• Korean American Resource and Cultural Center
• Latvian Folk Art Museum
• Mitchell Museum of the American Indian
• Polish Museum of America
• Swahili Institute of Chicago
• Swedish American Museum
• The Illinois St. Andrew Society
• Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art
• Ukrainian National Museum

Partner Institutions

The Chicago Cultural Alliance began through partnerships with ethnic and cultural organizations established at the Cultural Connections program at the Field Museum.

The Partner Institutions of the Chicago Cultural Alliance are:

• Chicago History Museum
• Chicago Zoological Society - Brookfield Zoo
• Chinese Mutual Aid Association
• Jane Addams Hull-House Museum
• North Park University
• The Field Museum
• The University of Chicago - Center for International Studies
• United African Organization
• Children's Memorial Hospital

Former Partner Institutions of the Chicago Cultural Alliance

• Chicago 2016 2008
• Snapshot Chicago2008-2009

Associate Members

The Chicago Cultural Alliance began through partnerships with ethnic and cultural organizations established at the Cultural Connections program at the Field Museum.

The Associate Members of the Chicago Cultural Alliance are:

• Changing Worlds
• Project for Civic Reflection - Valparaiso University
• Pullman State Historic Site

Activities

The Alliance is currently working to develop collaborative programs and projects to provide organizational development assistance to its Core Members and establish cross-cultural creative opportunities for youth.^[4] The Alliance provides four areas of programming: capacity building for its members, cross-cultural public programs, education programs, and advocacy and outreach.

Advocacy and outreach

The advocacy and outreach work has included collaborating with several other Chicago based arts and culture organizations in the Arts Power Chicago campaign to inform the 2011 Chicago mayoral candidates about the significant role that arts and culture plays in Chicago's neighborhoods and in its international image.^[5]

References

1. ^ http://www.chicagoculturalalliance.org/about/mission.asp
2. ^ http://www.fieldmuseum.org/culturalconnections/partners_chicago.asp
3. ^ http://archives.chicagotribune.com/2008/feb/13/news/chi-0213culturalfeb13
4. ^ http://www.chicagoculturalalliance.org/about/
5. ^ http://www.wbez.org/blog/onstagebackstage/2011-02-22/making-fist-arts-82715#

http://archives.chicagotribune.com/2008/feb/13/news/chi-0213culturalfeb13

External links

• Official website