Arts nonprofit opens ‘vessel’ for community engagement in old Austin bank building
The over 100-year-old Austin Bank of Chicago building, 5645 W. Corcoran Place, is now a space dedicated to the community.Alt Space Chicago, an arts-focused nonprofit that works with the city's Black communities, opened the old bank's grand halls and even its vault to the public this month to foster creativity and faith among residents of the West Side neighborhood.Co-founder Jordan Campbell said the nonprofit is “building legacy” and that it aims to reframe the narrative around Austin, which experiences high crime and violence rates and disinvestment from the city.“This is a vessel for the community," Campbell told the Sun-Times. "This is something that’s meant to be shared, and that's something I'm really aiming to continue to honor."Alt Space, which previously had rented space in the neighborhood, now operates out of the old bank building. But Campbell emphasized that their core goal is to provide a space for members of the community.“We are truly stewards, really we're in care of this space," Campbell said.The nonprofit acquired the building from Catholic Charities last year after several years of searching for a permanent space. Catholic Charities previously bought the building from Austin Bank of Chicago and opened the Chicago Father Augustus Tolton Peace Center in 2017.Campbell and his late co-founding partner Jon Veal, who died in 2021, started Alt Space in 2019 to cultivate alternative spaces and projects for community members to collaborate, revitalize and create sustainably.The organization celebrated the grand opening with a gallery, a screening of the film "Single-Use Planet" as part of the One Earth film festival, a local business market, volunteering and a church service over the weekend. Alt Space, a nonprofit organization rooted in art, community and faith opened up a space open to the community in Austin that fosters creativity.Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times The opening was the organization's latest, and largest, project to date. It launched “Project Stamp” in 2019, which documented the Austin community with photographs of neighborhood people. It also hosted several community markets to lift up local businesses.Campbell said going forward, the building will host The House Collective, comprising a group of five nonprofits and 10 artists-in-residence, all with different focuses in serving the community. Alt Space provides the location at a very low cost, so these organizations can free up more funds to provide their services for free. One of the groups is Root2Fruit Youth Foundation, a youth violence diversion program that has partnered with Alt Space since 2021.Aisha Oliver, who founded the program in 2009 in her parents' living room, works with youth starting in third grade to divert them from paths of violence. Alt Space will now be their meeting place, which is her organization’s first brick-and-mortar location."We always had a like a rotation of places where we could meet, so this, truly to me, aligned," Oliver said. "It is so much more than just the programs [we offer]. It's having a safe place."Through Root2Fruit, kids and teens created what they call a “safe zone” in the neighborhood — an eight-block area where they can escape to a comfortable and safe area. It includes parks, schools, the library and Alt Space.The youth organization prides itself on self-determination and independence, which Alt Space has helped encourage. The programming is designed for the kids to own everything they create.“They are more likely to really be a part of these things, because they created it, they own it.” Oliver said. “We just find ways to support those things that are usually untapped and show them how they can create those spaces themselves.”
The over 100-year-old Austin Bank of Chicago building, 5645 W. Corcoran Place, is now a space dedicated to the community.
Alt Space Chicago, an arts-focused nonprofit that works with the city's Black communities, opened the old bank's grand halls and even its vault to the public this month to foster creativity and faith among residents of the West Side neighborhood.
Co-founder Jordan Campbell said the nonprofit is “building legacy” and that it aims to reframe the narrative around Austin, which experiences high crime and violence rates and disinvestment from the city.
“This is a vessel for the community," Campbell told the Sun-Times. "This is something that’s meant to be shared, and that's something I'm really aiming to continue to honor."
Alt Space, which previously had rented space in the neighborhood, now operates out of the old bank building. But Campbell emphasized that their core goal is to provide a space for members of the community.
“We are truly stewards, really we're in care of this space," Campbell said.
The nonprofit acquired the building from Catholic Charities last year after several years of searching for a permanent space. Catholic Charities previously bought the building from Austin Bank of Chicago and opened the Chicago Father Augustus Tolton Peace Center in 2017.
Campbell and his late co-founding partner Jon Veal, who died in 2021, started Alt Space in 2019 to cultivate alternative spaces and projects for community members to collaborate, revitalize and create sustainably.
The organization celebrated the grand opening with a gallery, a screening of the film "Single-Use Planet" as part of the One Earth film festival, a local business market, volunteering and a church service over the weekend.
The opening was the organization's latest, and largest, project to date. It launched “Project Stamp” in 2019, which documented the Austin community with photographs of neighborhood people. It also hosted several community markets to lift up local businesses.
Campbell said going forward, the building will host The House Collective, comprising a group of five nonprofits and 10 artists-in-residence, all with different focuses in serving the community. Alt Space provides the location at a very low cost, so these organizations can free up more funds to provide their services for free.
One of the groups is Root2Fruit Youth Foundation, a youth violence diversion program that has partnered with Alt Space since 2021.
Aisha Oliver, who founded the program in 2009 in her parents' living room, works with youth starting in third grade to divert them from paths of violence. Alt Space will now be their meeting place, which is her organization’s first brick-and-mortar location.
"We always had a like a rotation of places where we could meet, so this, truly to me, aligned," Oliver said. "It is so much more than just the programs [we offer]. It's having a safe place."
Through Root2Fruit, kids and teens created what they call a “safe zone” in the neighborhood — an eight-block area where they can escape to a comfortable and safe area. It includes parks, schools, the library and Alt Space.
The youth organization prides itself on self-determination and independence, which Alt Space has helped encourage. The programming is designed for the kids to own everything they create.
“They are more likely to really be a part of these things, because they created it, they own it.” Oliver said. “We just find ways to support those things that are usually untapped and show them how they can create those spaces themselves.”
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