WBEZ and EarlyWork invite you to step into the dynamic world of Jonathan Michael Castillo with an intimate studio visit at Mana Contemporary in Pilsen.
Since 2017, Jonathan has been exploring Chicago and its surrounding areas, capturing images of the interiors of immigrant-owned businesses and the individuals behind them for his photography series Immigrant Owned. His work emphasizes the vital contributions that immigrants from diverse backgrounds make to the city’s social, cultural, and economic fabric.
If you’ve traversed through O’Hare Airport’s Terminal 5, you’ve most likely seen the work! 17 18 x 11 inch photographs from the acclaimed series are on permanent display between immigration and customs.
During this event we will hear from Jonathan about his work with the unique opportunity to peek into his studio and flip through proofs of photographs from other bodies of work–all while enjoying wine and art inspired light bites.
The first 30 guests to arrive will also receive a copy of Jonathan’s new photobook, Flags, Food and Faith.
Jonathan Michael Castillo is a visual artist, photographer and educator based in Chicago. He was the 2019-2021 recipient of the Diane Dammeyer Fellowship in Photographic Arts and Social Issues. Jonathan was included in the 2021 Hyde Park Art Center's Ground Floor Biennial in Chicago and was a finalist for the WMA Commission in Hong Kong. His work has been featured with The New Yorker, Wired, The Chicago Tribune, CBS: Los Angeles, and Brazil's G1 Globo. He has been interviewed on the BBC's “World Update” and Los Angeles public radio stations KPCC and KCRW. Jonathan was recently commissioned to create a large-scale permanent installation of his work at O’Hare International Airport as part of the Terminal 5 expansion project. In 2023 he was commissioned to make work for the city of Chicago’s Citywide Plan in partnership with the Department of Cultural Affairs and the Department of Planning and Development. Exhibitions include those at the Art Institute Chicago, Chicago Cultural Center, Photo LA 2020, the Center for Creative Photography, Aperture Gallery, House of Lucie, Filter Photo Gallery, Ralph Arnold Gallery and the California Museum of Art Thousand Oaks. Jonathan is represented by Samuel Maenhoudt Gallery in Belgium. His education includes a BFA from California State University Long Beach and MFA from Columbia College Chicago.
EarlyWork is a membership network comprised of energetic, vibrant builders in Chicago. People who are excited to find their people, build community and network with other like minded individuals around new cultural experiences in the city.
The EarlyWork team wants to take you by the hand and put you in spaces with people we know you’ll end up becoming great friends with. Since everyone is coming from different sectors, lived experiences and levels of understanding of Chicago’s cultural scene, we see ourselves as the connective tissue – building bridges between you and these other amazing members as well as the membership and everything that Chicago’s cultural scene has to offer.
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