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Visitors to campus next year will get a taste of the multifaceted history of the Illinois Institute of Technology campus and its relationship to the surrounding Bronzeville neighborhood thanks to a $50,000 grant from the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation based in Chicago.

A Living Room for Bronzeville: Stories about the Illinois Institute of Technology’s Campus and Chicago’s South Side is a storytelling initiative centered on an exhibit that will be installed next summer on the ground floor of Michael Paul Galvin Tower at 35th and State streets. Short films and an upcoming book will further enhance the initiative, spearheaded by IIT College of Architecture faculty Michelangelo Sabatino, professor of architectural history and preservation. The short films will be created by award-winning Bronzeville-based director Carlos Javier Ortiz in collaboration with Ashley Lukasik of Murmur Ring. On November 11, before filming begins, the Bronzeville Historical Society will host the first of a series of workshops to brainstorm the project with members of the Bronzeville community. You can register for a special “Call for Stories” session where you can share your unique stories around any experiences you have had with Illinois Institute of Technology that will run from 2–4 p.m.

Historic postcards and publications of all sorts, student yearbooks, and other rare memorabilia will join the short films to tell the story of Illinois Institute of Technology’s students, faculty, and staff and their engagement with Bronzeville and Chicago’s South Side.

The Driehaus Foundation provides legacy grants that show “Richard Driehaus’s passion for architecture, historic preservation, the arts, investigative journalism, and love for his hometown Chicago,” according to Foundation leadership. Richard Driehaus died in 2021 after a successful business and philanthropy career.