Artist-in-Residence
We are honored to announce that this year, we are supporting Delilah Salgado as the artist-in-residence at the Pilsen Environmental Rights and Reform Organization (P.E.R.R.O). Delilah engage the neighborhood and co-create artwork at the Canalport Riverwalk.
We previously supported Delilah and Chicago Public Art Group through Earth Art Chicago to create Rio de Bienvenida at Canalport Riverwalk. We recognized how much of an impact this grant made for the park and we want to continue supporting improvements and community engagement at Canalport Riverwalk as part of our work going forward.
Delilah and P.E.R.R.O. will be engaging community members through a series of workshops, to tell the history of environmental justice in the neighborhood, developing stencils, haikus, and more as part of the co-creation process for the final sculptural art piece at Canalport Riverwalk.
About the Artist
Delilah Salgado is a first-generation Mexican American community-based public artist, curator, educator, and activist. She enjoys painting, drawing, and illustrations, and creates site-specific installations. Raised on the Southwest side of Chicago, she currently resides in McKinley Park with her husband and three children. Her artistic practice is deeply embedded in the principles of intersectional feminism, Chicano culture, and Underground Hip Hop. Salgado’s public art interventions address environmental racism in marginalized communities, utilizing art as a modality for healing and empowerment among youth, families, and neighborhoods.
Delilah is an affiliated artist of Chicago Public Art Group and is on the board of the McKinley Park Development Council. She is also part of the Chicago Monuments Project: Pilsen Latina Legacies, Delilah joined the team as the Artist Advisory Coordinator, working closely with lead artist Diana Solis, Teresa Magaña project manager, and Hinda Seif researcher and scholar.
Among her distinguished projects, Salgado co-created the sculpture and mosaic “Rio de Bienvenida / River of Welcome” at the Canalport Riverwalk. This project, realized through the E(art)h Chicago grant, was a collaborative endeavor with Cynthia Weiss, Citlalli Trujillo, and Freshwater Labs.
She is currently working collaboratively with the Pilsen Environmental Rights and Reform Organization on the Green Latinos/Canal Origins Revitalization project located in the Pilsen/ McKinley Park neighborhood at Canal Origins Park where the team is creating a gathering space and restoring an art piece along with community members.
Salgado feels that artists function as anthropologists and creators of culture, offering profound insights into the human condition. She believes that through artistic expression, individuals can connect with their latent selves and experience life anew through various forms of art, music, and dance.
About the Host Organization
P.E.R.R.O stands for Pilsen Environmental Rights and Reform Organization. It is a grassroots community group of Pilsen residents that formed in 2004 to fight the disproportionate amount of pollution in the Pilsen neighborhood. PERRO believes all people have the right to live in a clean and healthy environment, regardless of their race and class.
P.E.R.R.O’s mission is to spread awareness about the concept of environmental justice and make Pilsen a healthier place to live, work, and raise children.
Chicago Frontlines Fund
E(art)H Chicago launched in 2023 as a final project of the Illinois Science and Energy Innovation Foundation. After a huge success, funding 12 public artworks across the City, the Chicago Frontlines Fund saw a need and an opportunity to continue supporting community-created artwork in Chicago’s neighborhoods.
Now, E(art)H Chicago is an official program of the Chicago Frontlines Fund. The program will support an artist-in-residence at a community-based, grassroots organization. Our intention is to support artists and organizations as they work together to create healthier and more joyous spaces.
