A big salute to our friends over at the Lacuna Artist Lofts in Pilsen and the Cacciatore family for giving back by opening up a school for Chicago’s at-risk youth. The Remix Project, which just kicked off their first program of the year, was profiled today on ABC7. What is the Remix Project you ask? Well, relax and take notes:
The Remix Project was created in order to help level the playing field for young people from disadvantaged communities trying to enter into creative industries or further their formal education. The Toronto-based school now has a new home in Chicago and will open in the fall, but right now, they have a summer pilot program.
Remix Project Chicago, located at Lacuna Artist Lofts in Pilsen, features a 5,000-square foot state of the arts space that will provide creative curriculum in three areas of study: recording arts, creative arts and business acumen.
“We are targeting the youth that get overlooked and we want to help them get to that next level,” said Cory Jenkins, Remix Project.
The facility has a professional recording studio, editing suites built with doors from a meat packing company. Fire hoses are used for seating, and private work stations are meant to inspire students, like train seats used in a classroom and airplane seating in the event space. All are built with re-purposed materials.
Read the full piece here, and go behind the scenes of the Remix Project above.