"Red Line Service makes
the kind of critical, visionary art
that is engaged in world building,
in rendering palpable
the world we want to live in."

- Lori Waxman, Chicago Tribune

Led by people with a lived experience of homelessness, Red Line Service wields art world resources to build community, generating the sense of belonging and mutual care essential to securing and retaining housing. We collaborate with artists and cultural institutions to expand access to the art world, avowing that art can break the bonds of ingrained social roles and structures and forge new realities in which all can flourish.

Red Line Service is the only art organization in Chicago—and one of the only art organizations world-wide—led by people experiencing homelessness.

Our programming provides artists with a lived experience of homelessness stipends, meals, transportation, amazing cultural experiences, and platforms for their own art. Through Red Line Service programs and events, participants:

  • Engage with highly regarded visual artists, art historians, curators, filmmakers, actors, writers, musicians, and other cultural workers;
  • Sharpen their own art, writing, and music expertise in workshops with renowned practicing artists;
  • Present their own art to a broader public through publications, events, exhibitions, and performances; and
  • Build a thriving, loving community.

The impacts of our shared experiences are felt on an individual level and contribute more broadly to a change in lived relations that shapes the larger society. Together, we:

  • De-stigmatize homelessness;
  • Decrease social isolation;
  • Develop a sense of belonging and social cohesion;
  • Provide channels for talent to be recognized, appreciated, and enjoyed; and
  • Build new support structures and reduce society's reliance on charity.

Beyond the importance meeting basic needs, our programming is based on current research, which shows that a sense of personal well-being and social connectedness are critical to securing and retaining housing. Check out the Jigsaw of Homeless Support created by our friends at Arts & Homelessness International (formerly With One Voice). With your help, we can provide more than emergency services. We can fundamentally reshape society into a deeply connected community of care.

  •  6/1/2023 12:00 PM - 6/1/2023 02:00 PM
  •   Smart Museum of Art

Join us for a tour of "Not All Realisms" with curator, Leslie Wilson.

  •  7/27/2023 12:00 PM - 7/27/2023 02:00 PM
  •   2233 South Throop Street, Chicago, IL, USA

A legal and advocacy framework for exploring the intersection of houselessness and food insecurity.

  •  8/3/2023 08:45 AM - 8/3/2023 07:15 PM
  •   John Michael Kohler arts center

Join us for a full day field trip experience to Sheboygan WI!

  •  5/18/2023 06:00 PM - 5/18/2023 08:00 PM
  •   2233 South Throop Street, Chicago, IL, USA

Join us for a Book Launch Party

  •  5/11/2023 12:00 PM - 5/11/2023 02:00 PM
  •   2233 South Throop Street, Chicago, IL, USA

Join Annie Howard and Seven Benjamin from the Chicago Housing Justice League for a presentation on the many ways housing insecurity manifests in Chicago.

  •  5/4/2023 12:00 PM - 5/4/2023 02:00 PM
  •   201 East Ontario Street, Chicago, IL, USA

Join us for a private tour of The Arts Club of Chicago with director, Janine Mileaf. Lunch will follow. This event is free and open to the public, with a special invitation to people with a lived experience of homelessness. RSVP is required. Space is limited.

  •  4/30/2023 03:00 PM - 4/30/2023 05:00 PM
  •   2233 South Throop Street, Chicago, IL, USA

Join Deanna Ledezma for a presentation entitled Family Photography Expanded: Kinship, Communities, Belonging

  •  4/14/2023 06:00 PM - 4/14/2023 09:00 PM
  •   2233 South Throop Street, Chicago, IL, USA

In partnership with EXPO Chicago, the studios at Mana will be open from 6-9pm.

  •  4/7/2023 03:00 PM - 4/7/2023 06:00 PM
  •   4201 W Irving Park Rd, Chicago, IL 60641, USA

Join us for a special art-making trip to The Chicago Weaving School. Weave a Carolina Snowflake of your own.

  •  3/26/2023 03:00 PM - 3/26/2023 05:00 PM
  •   2233 South Throop Street, Chicago, IL, USA

Join Art Historian Magdalena Moskalewicz, for a presentation on the work of the internationally recognized artist, Magdalena Abakanowicz as well as her connection to Chicago.

  •  3/25/2023 12:00 PM - 3/25/2023 02:30 PM
  •   4628 North Winthrop Avenue, Chicago, IL, USA

Join us for printmaking in the garden

  •  3/2/2023 12:00 PM - 3/2/2023 02:00 PM
  •   Rhona Hoffman Gallery

Join us for a VIP tour of Derrick Adams' new exhibition at Rhona Hoffman Gallery. Lunch will follow. This event is free and open to the public, with a special invitation to people with a lived experience of homelessness. RSVP is required. Space is limited.

  •  2/11/2023 01:00 PM - 2/11/2023 03:00 PM
  •   2233 South Throop Street, Chicago, IL, 60608, USA

Join us for The Fixer Upper: Buying into the American Tragicomedy with Amndtrn5thsnd, PhD (independent artist and scholar)

  •  2/2/2023 12:00 PM - 2/2/2023 02:00 PM
  •   Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago

Special tour of the exhibition with artist, Max Guy. Lunch will follow. This event is free and open to the public, with a special invitation to people with a lived experience of homelessness. RSVP is required.

  •  1/29/2023 03:00 PM - 1/29/2023 05:00 PM
  •   2233 South Throop Street, Chicago, IL, USA

We are proud to present Adrienne Brown, Associate Professor, University of Chicago. She will discuss her work, The Black Skyscraper: Architecture and the Perception of Race, which recovers the skyscraper’s drastic effects not only on the shape of the city but the racial sensorium of its residents. She will also discuss her work that charts the impact of the U.S.’s move to mass homeownership in 20th century on how Americans experienced residential space as a social, spatial, and, most significantly, a racial unit.

  •  12/12/2022 05:00 PM - 12/12/2022 07:00 PM
  •   Mana Contemporary

Join Rhoda Rosen, executive director, Red Line Service and associate professor, adj., School of the Art Institute of Chicago for a presentation, followed by a festive, holiday meal. This event is free and open to the public, with a special invitation to people with a lived experience of homelessness.

  •  12/2/2022 12:00 PM - 12/2/2022 02:00 PM
  •   33 East Washington Street, Chicago, IL, USA

A writing workshop for Red Line Service attendees who want to explore writing their own art histories. This event is free and open to the public, with a special invitation to people with a lived experience of homelessness.

  •  11/13/2022 03:00 PM - 11/13/2022 05:00 PM
  •   2579 North Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago, IL, USA

Join J. Dakota Brown for a presentation on typographers, design and labor politics in the Midwest.

  •  10/21/2022 12:00 PM - 10/21/2022 02:00 PM
  •   1226 West Ainslie Street, Chicago, IL, USA

Join art historian, Margaret MacNamidhe, associate professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago for a noontime talk. This event is free and open to the public, with a special invitation to people with a lived experience of homelessness.

  •  9/30/2022 12:00 PM - 9/30/2022 02:00 PM
  •   33 E Washington St, Chicago, IL 60602, USA

A writing workshop for Red Line Service attendees who want to explore writing their own art histories. This event is free and open to the public, with a special invitation to people with a lived experience of homelessness.

  •  9/17/2022 04:30 PM - 9/17/2022 06:30 PM
  •   4620 North Broadway, Chicago, IL, USA

Rebecca Zorach, Mary Jane Crowe Professor in Art and Art History, Northwestern University. This event is free and open to the public, with a special invitation to people with a lived experience of homelessness.

  •  9/9/2022 05:00 PM - 9/11/2022 05:00 PM
  •   2233 South Throop Street, Chicago, IL, USA

We are thrilled to be represented at our first art fair. We will be showing Red Line Service artists, Deborah Awwad and Ravi Arupa's work. Our book, Voices from the Margins, will also be available. Join us for Vernissage on Friday, September 9th from 5-8pm; Fair opening hours are: Saturday, September 10th from 12-9pm; and Sunday, September 11th from 1-5pm. No RSVP needed. For more information, visit: https://www.mdwfair.com/assembly

  •  8/26/2022 12:00 PM - 8/26/2022 02:00 PM
  •   33 E Washington St, Chicago, IL 60602, USA

A writing workshop for Red Line Service attendees who want to explore writing their own art histories. This event is free and open to the public, with a special invitation to people with a lived experience of homelessness.

  •  8/25/2022 12:00 PM - 8/25/2022 02:00 PM
  •   1226 West Ainslie Street, Chicago, IL, USA

Community Agreement Workshop

  •  8/20/2022 12:00 PM - 8/20/2022 02:00 PM
  •   1226 West Ainslie Street, Chicago, IL, USA

Leslie Wilson, Associate Director, Academic Engagement and Research, Art Institute of Chicago. This event is free and open to the public, with a special invitation to people with a lived experience of homelessness.

  •  7/22/2022 12:00 PM - 7/22/2022 02:00 PM
  •   1226 W Ainslie St, Chicago, IL 60640, USA

A writing workshop for Red Line Service attendees who want to explore writing their own art histories. This event is free and open to the public, with a special invitation to people with a lived experience of homelessness.

  •  7/16/2022 12:00 PM - 7/16/2022 02:00 PM
  •   6000 North Broadway, Chicago, IL, USA

Aisha Motlani, ACLS Leading Edge Research Fellow at Arts Alliance Illinois and lecturer, School of the Art Institute of Chicago. This event is free and open to the public, with a special invitation to people with a lived experience of homelessness.

  •  6/27/2022 05:30 PM - 6/27/2022 07:30 PM
  •   1226 W Ainslie St, Chicago, IL 60640

Kathleen Bickford Berzock, Associate Director of Curatorial Affairs, Block Museum, Northwestern University. This event is free and open to the public, with a special invitation to people with a lived experience of homelessness.

  •  6/14/2022 12:00 PM - 6/14/2022 02:00 PM
  •   The Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago 5811 South Ellis Avenue Cobb Hall, 4th Floor

A private tour of Diane Severin Nguyen's "If Revolution is a Sickness" followed by a discussion with the curators and a shared meal.

  •  6/10/2022 12:00 PM - 6/10/2022 02:00 PM
  •   Harold Washington Library, South State Street, Chicago, IL, USA

A writing workshop for Red Line Service attendees who want to explore writing their own art histories. This event is free and open to the public, with a special invitation to people with a lived experience of homelessness.

  •  5/24/2022 05:30 PM - 5/24/2022 07:30 PM
  •   Weinberg/Newton Gallery

Lori Waxman is the art critic for the Chicago Tribune and a senior lecturer at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. This event is free and open to the public, with a special invitation to people with a lived experience of homelessness.

  •  5/21/2022 04:00 PM - 5/21/2022 07:00 PM
  •   The Chicago Mosaic School

A private visit to The Chicago Mosaic School for a personalized mosaic tile-making workshop with expert instructors.

  •  4/22/2022 12:00 PM - 4/22/2022 02:00 PM
  •   Harold Washington Library, South State Street, Chicago, IL, USA

A writing workshop for Red Line Service attendees who want to explore writing their own art histories. This event is free and open to the public, with a special invitation to people with a lived experience of homelessness.

  •  4/14/2022 02:00 PM - 4/14/2022 04:00 PM
  •   Jane Addams Hull-House, South Halsted Street, Chicago, IL, USA

Presenter Ross Stanton Jordan, Interim Director and Curatorial Manager, Jane Adams Hull House Museum This event is free and open to the public, with a special invitation to people with a lived experience of homelessness.

  •  4/10/2022 03:30 PM - 4/10/2022 05:30 PM
  •   Intuit: The Center for Intuitive & Outsider Art

VIP Field Trip

  •  3/22/2022 06:15 PM - 3/22/2022 09:15 PM
  •   SCHOL OF THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO

Private experience of the School of the Art Institute (SAIC) annual biblioderive. In addition, we are pleased that the Joan Flasch Artist Book Collection and John M. Flaxman Library (both located at SAIC) each accessioned into their collections a copy of the Red Line Service artist book, Voices from the Margins.

  •  2/5/2022 11:00 AM - 2/5/2022 01:00 PM
  •   DEPAUL ART MUSEUM

Private tour with director, Laura-Caroline de Lara, of the exhibition Stockyard Institute: 25 Years of Art and Radical Pedagogy. Jim Duignan, founder of Stockyard Institute made a surprise appearance and co-led the wonderful tour.

  •  1/31/2022 11:00 AM - 1/31/2022 01:00 PM
  •   Museum of Contemporary Photography

Private tour with Chief Curator and Deputy Director, Karen Irvine, of the exhibition, American Epidemic: Guns in the United States.

$50

Donation Amount

2021-22 Red Line Service Contributors include so many generous people and institutions. Deepest civic love to: 

Anonymous donor advised fund at The Chicago Community Foundation, 

Alex Olech, Althea Teamer, Amy Schuman, Andrew White, Bella Meyer, Carol 

Oppenheim & Jerome S Lamet Charitable Fund, Chris O'Hara, Chris White, Clint

 Froehlich, Connie Yu, Dale Ginsburg, DevorahHeitner & Dan Weissman, David

Gersten, Ellen Zemel, Eric Calvert,  Elizabeth Seward, Emily Green, Emily Neuharth, 

Father Tito, Gaea Lady, Gary & Norma Zuckerman, Guy and Cindy Linn, Jacqueline

 Finley, Jacqueline Hayes, Janet Dill, Jay Neuharth, Jean Eisenman, Jessica 

Cochiaro, John & Lorena Manley, John Engman, Jonathan Rothstein, Julie Parson-

Nesbitt, Karen Trine, Kathleen Bickford Berzock, Kathleen Vitaioli, LJ Bailey, Lamont

 Burnett, Lawrence Weschler, Lori Waxman & Michael Rakowitz, Marc Fischer, 

Margaret MacNamidhe, Mike & Marion Kneafsey, Nicholas Wylie, Paula Olszewski-

Kubilius, Pierce Family Foundation, Rachel Rubin, Rebecca Zurier, Reva & David

 Logan Foundation, Rhoda Rosen, Richard Gibbons, Sabrina Kendrick, Scott Henry, 

Sean Hutchinson, Shane Davis, Sharon Cargile, Sonja Moser & Billy McGuinness, 

Sonny Patel, Susan Corwith, Susan Gold, Suzanne Ariola, Terra Foundation for

 American Art,  Tiffany & James Bland, Mission Endowment Grant from Holy Trinity

 Lutheran Church, Victoria Bland Styrbicki, Weinberg/Newton Family Foundation, and WUSA9. 




2020-21 Red Line Service Contributors include these amazing people and institutions. Our heartfelt thanks to:

Arts & Business Council*, Connie Yu, Gregory Bell, Jane Thompson, John Engman, Jonathan Rothstein, Lawrence Weschler

Michal Raz-Russo & Zev Salomon, Public Media Institute, Ray Wu, The Reva & David Logan Foundation, Rhoda Rosen

Weinberg/Newton Family Foundation




We remain eternally grateful to all of the generous contributors to our first five years, 2015-2019:

6018|North*, Abby Fraser, Adriana Haro*, Amy Schuman and Larry Stoler*, Anna Maria Jordan*, Anonymous (9), The Art Institute of Chicago*, Awesome Foundation, Barb and Dennis Kessler

Bess Williamson*, Billy (the drug dealer) & His Friends, Billy McGuinness, Burrito Man*, Chicago Coalition for the Homeless*, Chicago Community Trust*, Christina Cosio*, Danila Miranda*

Dennis Gallagher, Derrick Shirley*, Diab (the Uber driver)*, Eastern European Man, Felix Rosen, Hannah Avellone*, Heather Berhalter*, Institute of Global Homelessness*, Jacqueline Hayes

James Pepper Kelly*, Janice Feinberg*, Joan Sand*, Joy Wasserman and Rob Weinberg*, Jules Kim-Cohen, Julie Parson-Nesbitt, Kate Zeller*, Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP*, Lawrence Weschler

Leah Rothnagel*, Marcela Glusman, Maureen Kelleher*, Mickie Gordon, Miranda Hope*, Peach and Green*, Polly Ulichny, Propeller Fund, Rebecca Parker*, The Reva & David Logan Foundation

Rhoda Rosen, Risë Birnbaum, Robert Alexander*, Roberta Glick*, Robin Deacon, Ross Jordan*, Sarah Ward*, Sarah-Bess Dworin and Sam Feinsmith*, Shari Giddens*, Sharon & Bill Anderson

Shirley & David Grott and Marissa Grott & Dave McDermott*, Skip Stevens*, Smart Museum of Art*, Stanley’s Fruits and Vegetables*, Starbucks*, Stranger on the Train

Students for 60,000 (Northport High School), Sue Smock-Lawson*, Sullivan Galleries*, Tina Golas*, Tricia Van Eck*, Toussaint, Weinberg/Newton Family Foundation, Weinberg/Newton Gallery*

Wenli Liu*, Women & Children First*

*Indicates an in-kind contribution.



IL Humanities Grantee Spotlight

IL Humanities Grantee Spotlight

10/19/2022

Thank you to the IL Humanities for the spotlight on Red Line Service.

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South Side Weekly

South Side Weekly

4/14/2020

Nathaniel Mary Quinn’s Garden from the Robert Taylor Homes

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Chicago Tribune

Chicago Tribune

3/22/2017

Building a caring community through art

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STreetwise Magazine

STreetwise Magazine

2/6/2017

House (v.)

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Smart Museum Blog

Smart Museum Blog

8/17/2016

Constructing Home: An Interview with Red Line Service

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Quarantine Times

Quarantine Times

7/9/2020

The Age of Corona Virus - Poem by Big Mama

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Quarantine Times

Quarantine Times

6/7/2020

Viral Tunnel Vision and Institutional Withdrawal

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Relational Poverty Network

Relational Poverty Network

3/21/2019

On Collaborative Art Praxis to Challenge Homelessness

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Society + Space

Society + Space

3/14/2019

Representing The Vortex

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Red Line Service creates cultural programming by and for Chicagoans with a lived experience of homelessness. As a community, we enjoy lectures, performances, film screenings, exhibitions, meals, and more. We are also creators, writers and artists, who boldly claim our place in the cultural community. 2021 was a big year for us, with the publication of our second book and a return to steady programming.

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The project began in 2014 as an impassioned conversation between an artist and a curator about how culture might be brought to bear more directly on social issues, homelessness in particular. In our first five years of programming as an informal collaborative, Red Line Service averaged one program per month, hosting over 60 events and reaching over 3,000 participants.

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  • Red Line Service
  • c/o Mana Contemporary, Studio 656| 2233 S Throop | Chicago, IL 60608