Discover the work of teen artists across Chicago in this virtual exhibition inspired by Project a Black Planet: The Art and Culture of Panafrica.
This fall, we asked teens across the city to create a work of art that reflects the way they see themselves in a multicultural, interconnected world—using photography, graphic design, digital poster design, or digital collage. Chicago high schoolers responded as artfully as ever, sharing works that reflect their unique perspectives on their culture, hope, and resistance.
Explore their submissions below, and stop by the museum to see the 30 works of art selected by our panel of judges in person. They’re on view in the Ryan Learning Center’s McCormick Foundation Gallery through August 15, 2025.
Curators’ Choice
Asia on Argyle
Bianca E Pop
Dacha
David Bolotin
Home
Tien Tong
Honorable Mention
Hermanas
Melina Magana
A New World
Marlon Guaraca
Shameem
Aliza Sohail
JUDGES’ PICKS
Accra, Ghana
Leila Gutierrez
Trinidad, Cuba
Leila Gutierrez
Altar de recuerdos hecho de oro
Brandon Brito
Are You Chinese or American?
Angelan Lin
Chicago
Palmer Marie Norman
Fans in the Fog of Victory
Belinda Calle
Ghanaian Seamstress
Leila Gutierrez
Sprout Growth
Samantha Garcia
In My Heart
Daniel Lazaro
Identity Crisis
Karma Reynolds
La Catrina
Karina Ramirez
Is Resistance Our Identity?
Rihanna Thomas
Growth
Rihanna Delaney
The Flag
Sergio Andres Zaragoza
It Stained
Palmer Marie Norman
Remember
Addison Green
The Third Generation
Sophie Wu
Señor
Nadya Flores
The Dream
Celia Fuentes
The Roots of My Origin
Belinda Calle
Polish Tradition Woven in Red and White
Aleksandra Glodz
Keep Your Eyes on Your Goal
A’Mari Johnson
Azteca
Jason Reza
My Resistance
Omari Williams
Journeys
A New Town
Tien Tong
A Culture of Solitude
Ailey Kinsella
A Journey to Lourdes
Aleksandra Glodz
A Night in Chinatown
Emily Chow
A Pilgrim’s View
Aleksandra Glodz
Afternoon in San Martin
Ailey Kinsella
Alley
Jack Redmond
Beauty in the Bean
Caitlyn Shane
Borderline
Celia Fuentes
Cabin in the Woods
Miriam Gass
Café con Leche
Alexandra Kania
Carrying Polish Culture through Church
Nina Reginiewicz
Chicago
Caitlyn Shane
Connected by Our Love of Fireworks
Sophia Curry
The Sunrise
Cassidy Canaval
Solace
Cassidy Canaval
Culture
Edison Ortega
Curious
Maddsen Farmer
Dark and Dreary
Nathan Urquhart
Done
Sunjayla Ogando
Down an Alleyway
Garrett Nielsen
Elote Stand of Albany Park
Analisa Oliva
Evergreen Garden
Samantha I Reinoso
Eyes on You
Sophia Curry
Fields of Wonder
Emiy Ba
Flashing Signs
Nathan Urquhart
Flowerily Skies
Arabella Breen
Freedom through Travel
Jacqueline Luna
Glow
Samantha Garcia
Gotham City
Emiy Ba
Guiding Light
Christopher Montenegro
wet light
Alex Zeigler
Iza’s House
Michelle Melanie Markowska
Jibarito Sandwich
Jacob Martinez
Las frutas de mi vida
Melina Magana
Light the Way as You Go
Miriam Gass
Lone Monarch
Jacqueline Luna
Look Here
Tien Tong
Looking Beyond the Mountains
Jacqueline Luna
Meet In The Garden
Cassidy Canaval
Midwestern Autumn
Quinn Downey
Observation
Carolyn Faasse
Omnipotence
Bianca E Pop
One Thousand Stories
Ailey Kinsella
OSRUI
Miriam Gass
Over a Bridge
Shravan Rameshbabu
Pilsen
Sergio Andres Zaragoza
Plantea
Yafet Abebe
Public Transportation
Caitlyn Shane
Road
Peter Roarty
RUN!
Alexandra Kania
Sacred Stone
Marlon Guaraca
Sally’s Pigeons
Quinn Downey
Signs in the Shade
Garrett Nielsen
Spark
Samantha Garcia
Sprout
John Tran
Sprout Growth
Samantha Garcia
Sweet Ride
Marlon Guaraca
The Depth of the Ocean Soul
Kate Angela McCay
The Heart of Windy City
Belinda Calle
The Lonely Lamp Post
Edison Ortega
The Loop
Quinn Downey
The Peak of Ever Peace
Kate Angela McCay
The Stripes That Shape Us
Isaiah Cole
Under a Bridge
Shravan Rameshbabu
Urban Nature (Bird)
Edison Ortega
Walworth
Cassidy Canaval
Warmth of the Tree
Sophia Greenfield
We’ve Got a Visitor
Emiy Ba
Whispers of the Forest
Samantha I Reinoso
Gotham City
Emiy Ba
Las frutas de mi vida
Melina Magana
Look Here
Tien Tong
Abstractions
Adidas Shoe
Olivia Glanz
8th Period
Alec Martinoli
A Generational Upbringing
Isaiah Cole
Angel Face
Yasleen-Alvarita Galindo
Barely Here
Matei Milojkovic
Be Who You Are
Tyanni Smith
Beach Bash
Jacob Fares Zanayed
Bird’s Eye View
Camila Alvarado
Blending Chicago
Jonathan Ha
Blonde Glamour
Elena Ramirez
Bloodline
Alexandra Kania
Broadened Horizons
Ainsley Dean
cant beat the universe
Xael Corral
Catastrophe
Davidson Alonzo
Chicago Ideas
Parker Mendell
Chicago
John Patrick Kehoe
Coocoo
Alexander Ritchie
CP Mashup
Christian Perez
Dog Eat Dog
Sophia Trinh
Failure Is Not an Option
Evan Sellis
Fish in the Forest
Lane Mendell
Funky Town
Salvador Acosta
GOAE
Antonio
Good Girl, New Beginnings
Ellia Rodriguez
Goodbye Tomorrow
Tyler Lewis Spanninger
Hope of the Old Kingdom
Tavrion Collins
Hope
Terell Davison
I Think I Just Did a Boom Boom
Dana Fortier
WI light painting
Alex Zeigler
In My Heart
Daniel Lazaro
Interests
Uri Singer-Harte
Legacies
LeGrand (Gus) Augustin Terry
MaMaMaMa
Zachary Wims
Mash from 76
Aiden Kozul-Mercado
Mashup Project
Lotta Holthaus
Mashup Project
Stella Blum
Mashup
Tyler Samonds
Meadow
Jessi Elizabeth Foster
Mohammed Ali Art Mashup
Sebastian Barbas
Music Utopia
Julia
My Culture
Elvin Dwight Means Jr.
Legacies
Leilah Siharath
My Mind
Juliet Bowling
NOSTALGIC
Nadya Flores
Personal Universe
Keenan Dunne
Portal
Alex Zeigler
Running Time
Sheane Finn
Sanchez Mashup
Yasleen-Alvarita Galindo
Sophia’s Mashup
Sophia Navarrete
The Desert
Will Szott
The Teenage Mindset
Ecko Lopez
The Walrus Flies North
Sophia Curry
Through Ideas Through Progress Through Colors
David Sura
Watch Out for the Sandman
John Timm
PORTRAITS
A Family Line
Frederick Dino
African Guy
Michael Wimmer
All Chinese-American Girls
Sophie Wu
Branches and Flowers
Palmer Marie Norman
Brother
Tucker Atwood-Langeler
Caroline’s Corner
Grier Burke
Catgirl
Samantha I Reinoso
Christian Guilt
Bianca E. Pop
Concept of Infinity
Emmanuel Machuca
Jackson Portrait
Tucker Atwood-Langeler
Creator
Nathan Stalley
Cultural Closet Choices
Sophie Wu
Dad
Sasha Ayers
Duchenne Smile
Michelle Melanie Markowska
El Balet Folklórico
Jason Reza
Family Pie
Amalia Rojas
Focus
Amalia Rojas
Food Frenzy
Camila Alvarado
Generational Culture
Emmanuel Machuca
Glow
Victoria Robledo
Good Sport
Janelle Corpuz
Grier
William Huge
Happy Portrait
Vanessa Perez
Hiding Within
Hana Eichler
I Love Rice Hats
Andrew Fukawa
Infinity
Nathan Stalley
Intertwined
Addison Green
Jolin
Max Feinberg
Jritton
Max Feinberg
Judgment
Corey Ngo
Judgment of Self
Alexander Czempinski
La Villa
Sergio Andres Zaragoza
Laser Vision Monster
Colin Brophy
Life of Baseball
Jeremiah Henry
Los Muertos
Jason Reza
Lover across the Parking Lot
Owen Lilley
Luca’s Portrait
Colin Ferrell
Max’s Portrait
Colin Ferrell
Me and My Thoughts
Alex Juarez-Magana
Michael
William Huge
Miriam’s Window
Grier Burke
Money Heist
Nathan Urquhart
My Father’s Smile
Garrett Nielsen
My Friend
Lillie Mackey
Mysterious
Vanessa Perez
Our Connections to Our Ancestry
Emmanuel Machuca
Pensive Thoughts
McNeil Solugan
Pink Smiles
Janelle Corpuz
Pondering
McNeil Solugan
Pondering
Filip Glodz
Portrait 3
Max Feinberg
Pre-War Happiness
Sara Cenanovic
Pregnant
Maddsen Farmer
Quinn
Sasha Ayers
Sam
Samantha I Reinoso
Sebastian Wimmer
Michael Wimmer
Shadows
Nathan Stalley
Sharp
Victoria Robledo
Silent Night
Ari Aks
Slip of a Mask
Christopher Montenegro
Tenemos comida en la casa (We Have Food at Home)
Analisa Oliva
Thomas
William Huge
Tien Tong
Michael Wimmer
Wanderlust
Janelle Corpuz
Warmth
Victoria Robledo
Wear My Face
Christopher Montenegro
Who to Be
Alexander Czempinski
Will Huge
Michael Wimmer
Will’s Legacy
Grier Burke
Young Love for a Lifetime
Analisa Oliva
Youth
McNeil Solugan
Zachary
Sasha Ayers
我
Evan Lam
