In recent years, the Bulls have made a concerted effort to increase its investment in Chicago's Latinx community, especially through educational opportunities for students at Chicago Public Schools. This season the organization launched a partnership program with one of its community partners and 2021 MLK Legacy Honorees, Alt Space Chicago – a non-profit that works to revitalize South and West Side communities through art.
What is technically considered a STEAM school, Infinity High School in Little Village, one of the city's predominately Latinx neighborhoods, lacks the necessary resources for a robust arts program. In response, the Bulls and Alt Space teamed up to develop a year-long arts program for a group of junior year students at the school. Through the program, the students attend 90-minute weekly sessions, led by Alt Space, to work on 2-3 art projects throughout the year.
This initiative demonstrates the Bulls' ongoing commitment to providing students of color access to opportunities that support their personal and professional development – a commitment that is especially illustrated by the fact that each student, all of whom working toward an associate degree, will receive college credit for their participation in the program.
Each workshop ranges in topic, but all are focused on using art as a way for the students to express themselves and potentially expand their view of art as a viable career path. For one of the sessions, the Bulls were lucky enough to have its Manager of Digital Content, Joe Pinchin, speak about photography, offer advice to the students and share his professional journey to becoming a photographer for the Bulls.