- Speaker #0
Hi, I'm Hermene Hartman and you are looking at N'Digo Studio and we welcome you. We welcome you to our living room. And today we're going to talk about a historic community on the south side of Chicago, Woodlawn. It is being defined by challenges, but most of all, it is changing. We are going to see a new future in Woodlawn. At the heart of this transition stands the Obama Presidential Center. It's a landmark project that will bring visitors to Chicago. And it's also bringing about the modern-day renaissance. It's the 17th such Presidential Center in America, and it will be unique. But from the Obama Center, we will see new life, new businesses, new opportunities. So join us as we talk about the Obama Center. It's going to be more than brick and mortar. It's going to return a neighborhood where Barack and Michelle Obama. Journey began. And so now we're going to talk about the reshaping of local life and what that transformation really, really, really will look like. Our guests, we're going to talk to Quandra Speights. She is the founder of the Urban Market Exchange. And Quandra has been in corporate America. As a human resource person, and now you're bringing all of that energy and all of that education and all of that talent, you're bringing it home, bringing it to Woodlawn. So tell me, Quandra, what is your vision for the Urban Market Exchange and why Woodlawn?
- Speaker #1
Why Woodlawn? Why not Woodlawn? Why not Woodlawn? It's an amazing historical African-American community right there in the heart of the Southside. Southside. I wanted, I want to see more minority businesses back in our community. I want to see that local economy back in our communities where we could walk, work and play. That's something important to me. As a child my mom would always talk about Woodlawn and Bronzeville and how they had so many beautiful shops and theaters and unfortunately when I was born I never got a chance to see that. I saw the devastation. I saw the broken windows, the devastated buildings, the vacant lots. And it just inspired me to want to see more of those local businesses back in our communities.
- Speaker #0
So how has your corporate experience turned you into an entrepreneur?
- Speaker #1
That is a great question. It's different. It's very different. I actually never saw myself as an entrepreneur. I felt like my mom and my sisters were the hustlers. They were the entrepreneurs of the family. I always wanted to be like them. But one day, I just got that tap on the shoulder. I call it being fired while being black. And I got that letter saying you're being laid off. And so... That'll do it. And I did it. So I went to an entrepreneurial course at the YWCA. And I saw all these amazing entrepreneurs sitting there talking about their challenges and how once they left these programs, they had nowhere else to go. And then I ended up going to Sunshine Enterprises. And once again, the stories continue about wanting to scale their business and grow their business, but they just didn't have a place to do it. And one day during the pandemic, I was actually on the phone with Johannes. He was asking me about a maker space of sorts regarding how can makers come, does Sunshine have something? And I was like, well, Sunshine doesn't have something, but I think I can do it. I think this is something I can do. And so we purchased the building and the rest is history.
- Speaker #0
And so now you're in the process of renovating the building. Yes. The Obama Center opens in spring of 26, and you will open when?
- Speaker #1
March of 26, about the same time. About the same time,
- Speaker #0
all right. That's good. Dana, you are a fine artist. Your work is absolutely beautiful and can be found at Chicago Public Schools, Boys and Girls Club, Metropolitan Family Services, Gallery Guichard. Navy Pier, and you've been a featured artist with the Chicago Jazz Festival. Yes. So tell me about, well tell me why you two are going to be in the Urban Market Exchange, and what that means to you, because this is important for artists to have. of a place. What's that mean to you?
- Speaker #2
Um, so looking back on my journey, I've always had to kind of take the pieces and then put them together and make them apply to, you know, whatever I was trying to do at the time. I could never really find a direct path. I went through the program at Sunshine. That's how I met Quandra.
- Speaker #0
So wait a minute, you all keep talking about Sunshine. What is
- Speaker #1
Sunshine? So Sunshine is a not-for-profit in the Woodlawn community where we help small businesses and disadvantaged communities grow and strengthen their business.
- Speaker #0
Okay, so they're looking for people who really want to go into business, right?
- Speaker #2
Absolutely. It's a 12-week course and then when you...actually the best thing about Sunshine is after the 12-week course, they have programming so that you can tap in. So whatever your business needs may be down the line, you can always reach out to Sunshine and get more help. And so, Quandra... My nickname for her is The Plug because whenever I needed help she was the person I would contact and Johans he was my he was one of my mentors as well.
- Speaker #0
So were you all in the program together at the same time?
- Speaker #1
No, so I graduated and eventually I ended up getting a job at Sunshine. And so coming from that mindset of I know these entrepreneurs, the type of resources they need, I hit the streets and I talked to every organization I could about the resources they could bring to our entrepreneurs. And so when Dana called and she needed something, I was on it right away to give her that support.
- Speaker #0
So Dana, you are an artist, a fine artist, and most of all, you like painting children to show joy. Yeah. Tell me about that. What stimulates that?
- Speaker #2
I grew up in Woodlawn, technically Woodlawn, and I went to school in Hyde Park. And so the Museum of Science and Industry was maybe a 15 minute walk from my house. And back when I was young, it was free. And my...
- Speaker #3
It's not free anymore?
- Speaker #2
No, ma'am. No, ma'am. Okay, it was free when I was a little girl too. it was free and then the beach was right there. So that was something that I did with my friends all the time. We would walk to the museum, play, go to the beach. That was my childhood on the south side of Chicago. It was beautiful. And when I actually started my children's series when I was watching the news one afternoon and there were three stories about young black men 12 to 14 and they had mug shots of these children and I was like that's not what I saw growing up. I'm a black woman who grew up on the South Side. I wanted to pick the joy that I experienced, so.
- Speaker #0
So you like doing children?
- Speaker #2
Yeah.
- Speaker #0
They're beautiful. Thank you. Beautiful paintings. Yohance, before art, Pulitzer Prize, Peabody. Tell me about that Peabody and that Pulitzer Prize and how it came about.
- Speaker #4
Yeah, so I did some time. And prior to... to having done my time on back in the late 90s there was a try to get a quick version there was a little boy his name was lenard clark he lived in stateway gardens he got beat like within the interest of his life by a mob of italians in bridgeport um they beat him up they beat him up and these particular italians had ties that went back to like al capone so this was like italian mafia it wasn't like a hit they were just trying to keep You know, Bridgeport, historically racist, almost like a sundown town of a neighborhood. They're trying to, you know, just keep black folks out of the neighborhood, so they just targeted a 13-year-old boy, beat him almost to death.
- Speaker #0
Wasn't he riding his bike?
- Speaker #4
He was riding his bike. He actually went to Bridgeport to get air for the tire on his bike because air in Bridgeport was free, but air in the projects that he came from cost 50 cents or something like that. Right? And so I investigated that case back then. It was a lot of different... forces kind of trying to push that story from coming to life.
- Speaker #0
Were you a reporter?
- Speaker #4
I was a reporter, kind of like a renegade rogue reporter. I've been writing all my life. I was, father taught me how to read and write really early, played with his typewriter as a little kid. I've always been artistic and creative, always been into writing and storytelling. Landscape in terms of journalism at the time, I couldn't get that story out like I wanted to. And fast forward, I got a little deeper into the streets. I did some time behind that. When I came home... I got in with this newsroom called the Invisible Institute, amazing newsroom also in Woodlawn. And I was able to create a audio journalism, investigative journalism podcast with them about that story. And that story.
- Speaker #0
You didn't see nothing. That was the name of your podcast. You didn't see nothing. What does that mean?
- Speaker #4
When this boy was attacked, you know, he's in Bridgeport. So it's mostly Italians and Irish folks. Police show up on the scene. And the crowds of people outside who are talking to police and reporters are actually trying to cover For the young men that beat this little boy up, there was a Mexican guy there who was starting to tell the police what he saw, what happened, because he wasn't a Bridgeport native, right? And as he's telling the police what actually happened, in a very threatening manner, Bridgeport residents, like, you didn't see nothing, right? And that was like a veiled threat, like, you know, like basically shut your mouth, you know what I mean, before we shut it for you. And so, um, To kind of put that in context of the storytelling, we chose that title because this happened in 97 and you didn't see nothing. So many people didn't know about it because the story wasn't properly told. So it was maybe double, triple entendre there in terms of the picking of names.
- Speaker #0
But you got a Peabody and you did seven episodes.
- Speaker #4
Yes, it was a seven episode limited series. We won a Peabody and a Pulitzer.
- Speaker #0
Wow. Congratulations. Thank you. That's no easy feat. And it's a wonderful feat for an independent news person.
- Speaker #4
Yeah, no, I appreciate that. And I just, I do want to say that, like, I just want to give, like, a lot of props to the Invisible Institute and the audio team there, because there's, like, no way I could have done that without them. But, yeah, super grateful.
- Speaker #5
Whether you're considering an electric vehicle at work or at home, making the switch may not be as complex or expensive as you think. The tools, resources, and rebates available at ComEd.com slash EV make transitioning to an electric vehicle easier and more cost effective than ever before. Charge into the future at ComEd.com slash EV.
- Speaker #6
Welcome to Hell's Kitchen, Broadway's hit musical from Alicia Keys.
- Speaker #7
Every song, If I Ain't Got You, Empire State of Mind is all in the show.
- Speaker #6
Meet Allie, a 17-year-old girl full of fire. Meet the musical mentor who changes her life and her family, who lifts her up. With exhilarating choreography, Hell's Kitchen is all about finding yourself, your purpose, and the people who inspire you. Hell's Kitchen, playing at the James M. Niederlander Theatre, November 11th through 30th.
- Speaker #5
At ComEd, we understand a little help can really make someone's day. That's why we provide financial assistance and billing options to help you pay and manage your electric bill. Use the ComEd Smart Assistance Manager to discover bill assistance and savings options designed with you in mind.
- Speaker #6
Welcome to Hell's Kitchen, Broadway's hit musical from Alicia Keys.
- Speaker #7
Every song, If I Ain't Got You, Empire State of Mind, is all in the show.
- Speaker #6
Meet Allie, a 17-year-old girl full of fire. Meet the musical mentor who changes her life and her family, who lifts her up. With exhilarating choreography, Hell's Kitchen is all about finding yourself, your purpose, and the people who inspire you. Hell's Kitchen, playing at the James M. Niederlander Theater, November 11th through 30th.
- Speaker #0
So while you were incarcerated you learned something. Tell me what you learned.
- Speaker #4
Yeah, I picked up leather work.
- Speaker #0
Leather work. You're a leather artist.
- Speaker #4
I am. I am. When I was in, I was in federal prison for drug charges and they had a hobby craft department. It was really designed for guys to just kind of, it was actually kind of a money scheme. I tell people this and they get to thinking, oh, there's some good programming in prison for folks. That ain't really how it is. You know, we, it was something for us to do. thankful for that. And there was no formal training. We kind of taught each other. We did have access to tools, right? And so guards would allow us to use the tools under supervision because you're dealing with sharp objects or whatever. So there was always a guard there to let you take tools out and guards there to take them from you when Hobbycraft closed. In terms of learning how to do it, I just had to learn by watching other inmates who had done 10 and 20 years or whatever. So they were very skilled, but they were self-taught.
- Speaker #0
There's no teacher?
- Speaker #4
There's no teacher. Right, so what I tell people is...
- Speaker #0
You're just learning through trial and error and self-taught and watching others do.
- Speaker #4
Yep.
- Speaker #0
Wow.
- Speaker #4
Yeah, yeah.
- Speaker #0
That's amazing.
- Speaker #4
Yes. I owe a lot to the guys I was locked up with, you know, because...
- Speaker #0
So now you're doing shoes.
- Speaker #4
Yeah, so now I make shoes. And purses. And purses and bags and leather artwork.
- Speaker #0
And you are original, these are bespoke things.
- Speaker #4
Yes.
- Speaker #0
So there's no, everything's an original work of art.
- Speaker #4
Everything is an original work of art. However, I have gotten to the point where some of my like more popular designs, I'm now getting them manufactured by a manufacturer who still hand makes them in Portugal. And so when I'm hand making something, it's a commission one of one, but I do have shoes being manufactured.
- Speaker #0
Dana, how do you choose what you paint? I know that the children are a specialty and an interest, but you do other things too. How do you make those decisions?
- Speaker #2
So, I think that's always the artist's dilemma. I, oftentimes, I'll have dreams about the next series, the next thing I should tackle. Also, you know, I understand that my artistic platform gives me a voice. So if there are things that I feel like society needs to address, I'll put those things within a series as well. So, now,
- Speaker #0
Conjure, you're providing a hub for artists.
- Speaker #3
Yes.
- Speaker #0
And you're not looking at just the beauty of their art, but the business of their art business. So they will individually be entrepreneurs in your space. To sell their work.
- Speaker #1
Yes.
- Speaker #0
How will that work? How will you recruit? What other artists are you looking at? How is that going to work for you?
- Speaker #1
So, Every Market Exchange, our target market is artists, makers, and creators. I'm hoping to, just through the work that I do at Sunshine Enterprise, reach out to other artists.
- Speaker #0
So, you're going to stay at Sunset, too?
- Speaker #1
I'm there, yeah.
- Speaker #0
And you're going to do urban market exchange?
- Speaker #1
Until something, until I hit that first $1 million. Uh-oh.
- Speaker #0
All right. Okay. You all got to be busy so she can make that money.
- Speaker #1
I definitely have help. I have worked with Johans. I've worked with him at Sunshine, and he has been an inspiration for me. Same thing with Dana and other artists. Like, everything I'm wearing, majority of the stuff I'm wearing today, is made by an artist. And so I think you actually come and make these items at the the Urban Market Exchange as well So I'm hoping that the work that I do with the within the community with these entrepreneurs They will see the value and wanted and want to sign up.
- Speaker #0
So will they actually have workspace? At Urban Market Exchange or will it just be a store with?
- Speaker #1
Retail that's a great question. So we have private studio spaces on one side Then we have a cafe so that the community can come in and see what the artist is doing. So we're going to have like a glass wall between where the cafe is and then on the other side is where the work studio will be, where the people from the community can come in and see the artist working. We're going to have a retail pop-up store, so the things that they're making in the center they can also sell. And in the back is going to be specialty rooms. So we're going to have a sewing machine room with specialty equipment like 3D printers, laser cutters, things of that nature. Soil machine, podcast, and videographer room. Those are our specialty room.
- Speaker #5
Whether you're considering an electric vehicle at work or at home, the tools, resources, and rebates available at commed.com slash ev make transitioning to an electric vehicle easier than ever before.
- Speaker #6
Welcome to Hell's Kitchen, Broadway's hit musical from Alicia Keys.
- Speaker #7
Every song, If I Ain't Got You, Empire State of Mind is all in the show.
- Speaker #6
Meet Allie, a 17-year-old girl full of fire. Meet the musical mentor who changes her life and her family, who lifts her up. With exhilarating choreography, Hell's Kitchen is all about finding yourself, your purpose, and the people who inspire you. Hell's Kitchen, playing at the James M. Niederlander Theater, November 11th through 30th.
- Speaker #5
At ComEd, we understand a little help can really make someone's day. That's why we provide financial assistance and billing options to help you pay and manage your electric bill.
- Speaker #6
Welcome to Hell's Kitchen, Broadway's hit musical from Alicia Keys.
- Speaker #7
Every song, If I Ain't Got You, Empire State of Mind, is all in the show.
- Speaker #6
Meet Allie, a 17-year-old girl full of fire. Meet the musical mentor who changes her life and her family, who lifts her up with exhilarating choreography. Hell's Kitchen is all about finding yourself, your purpose, and the people who inspire you. Hell's Kitchen, playing at the James M. Niederlander Theater, November 11 through 30. The Girl's Studio.
- Speaker #0
The Girl's Studio. Are you an artist yourself?
- Speaker #1
I am not.
- Speaker #0
You are not. So why did you want? to do this space for artists? What was the stimulation for that?
- Speaker #1
I think in combination with the conversation I had with Johans that day, it was right at the height of the pandemic. And we at Sunshine, we were really trying to help our makers and our entrepreneurs keep their business. Like we were like, it was like a fight and flight type of situation. Like we were on damage control. And so we got an RFP from the state of Illinois because at the time there were no PPE gear in minority communities and so they were really trying to get protective masks and things into our communities and I they reached out to us saying you need somebody make 3,000 masks you have anyone and I reached out to a few makers but they can make a hundred or two hundred masks there was no way that could make 3,000 and make that RFP and so I said you know what we He had a maker space. They could have went in there. made those 3,000 masks and made their money. But we didn't have anything like that in our community or at our disposal. So that kind of got me thinking like, what if I can provide specialized equipment to scale these businesses? Not just help them, give them some free courses, but no, to really give them the equipment they need to grow their business.
- Speaker #0
What other kind of artists will you have?
- Speaker #1
So I'm hoping... artists like Dana jewelry making so we're going to have a jewelry row that jewelers who like to make stuff like this is Lala wasn't here today I wasn't able to be here today but she made this beautiful necklace this beautiful bracelet people who cobblers who wants to come in and make shoes t-shirts people want to make t-shirts 3d printers and we know a lot of the makers need prototypes And we also want to work with the youth. We would love for them to come in and maybe...
- Speaker #0
Will you teach them? Will you teach? Will you have a space where young people can learn leather making? They can learn painting?
- Speaker #1
Absolutely. And I'm hoping these artists will want to provide programming. That's my gift to them.
- Speaker #0
Okay, now in the customer for the exchange, who is that customer? Because you're not just looking at people living in Woodlawn to be your customer. Who else? is your customer? And do you think the Obama Center tourists will be attracted to urban market? How do you see that synergy?
- Speaker #1
So I feel like the customers would be the entrepreneurs. And the goal is for them to come into the center, make their products and their services. Take some, we will have business support services there too. So we have teamed up with a non-for-profit YWCA Bre Love program that will provide the business support services for the entrepreneurs.
- Speaker #0
So you will be selling your wares, your art. Will you also be teaching others? And are you excited to do that?
- Speaker #2
Absolutely. I had a gallery space at Navy Pier for the last two years, Women's Live Artist Studio. And through that space, we did a lot of workshops and hosted the community as they came through. And so I'm looking forward to doing it on the South Side. I don't think... there has ever been a space like what Quandra has created. And I think for a lot of the makers in the community, it's a place where they can be seen and they can see a path to truly building seven figure businesses and talking to other artists. I wish, I lived down the street growing up and I wish I had this type of venue when I was growing up. So. I'm really excited to pour into the younger ones coming up.
- Speaker #0
So you'll be mentoring, teaching, and the whole mentoring process. What about you, Johan?
- Speaker #4
Yeah, no, I'm looking forward to it. So like I said, when I came home, I started teaching at the school up in Ravenswood. When I got there, I would see one black person every few months, and I was teaching several classes a day. After I'd been there for a few years, you know, I put the word out, and now they have like tons of black folks coming. But it's far. It's all the way in Ravenswood, so it's kind of far for your average South Sider. And it's expensive. It's relatively expensive. And so I'm really looking forward to providing this type of tutelage and mentorship for brothers and sisters on the South Side who either can't get all of that way or can't necessarily afford the kind of exorbitant prices that they may charge up there. I feel like what we're doing here... It's kind of like almost a second Chicago black renaissance here, right? Like I was telling my buddy on the way over here about the conversation we're gonna have today and it made me think about like how valuable it's gonna be for Artists and makers just to be making in community with each other, right? You're an artist, you're an artist, you're an artist, I'm an artist, I'm making stuff. The inspiration is bouncing off. The camaraderie. The camaraderie. I'm watching what you building. It's inspiring. It's sparking thought. All of that is infectious, it's contagious. So we want to create a spirit there and in terms of target, you know, I think that the community is the first target, right? But I think that, you know, with the Obama Center being in Woodlawn, you know, when you got these type of transitions, unfortunately, it's going to come at someone's expense. And oftentimes, it's the residents. There's a lot of displacement in South Shore and Woodlawn behind that. And I'm hoping that what we bring there is an investment in people who would otherwise be getting displaced, right? And then I think that, you know, after we have kind of built what we're building, I think that other people... will just want to see what's going on on the south side of Chicago where you got like some just brilliant minds and artists creating stuff.
- Speaker #0
You know, I'm sure you all know Studio Museum of Harlem. Is this kind of a Studio Museum of Harlem in Chicago?
- Speaker #1
Okay, I like that.
- Speaker #0
And in what line, that's kind of as I hear you speaking about it and talking about it and what it will be, I think and you know Studio Museum of Harlem they just they're building a new, they got a new building too. So my point in the discussion is that when an institution comes into a new neighborhood, the neighborhood changes. It's a renaissance, a real renaissance for the community, not to fight it, but to embrace it. But it's going to bring something new. And like you said, there's going to be some displacement. There's going to be some change. There's going to be some differences. but there's also going to be some newness. Congratulations to you all. I can't wait to see it and to be somewhat, I don't know how, but somewhat involved.
- Speaker #1
Love it,
- Speaker #0
love it. Thank you. Thanks for being with us and thank you for the beautiful work that you're doing. You know what I'd like to do? I'd like to see the children.
- Speaker #1
Yes.
- Speaker #0
I would like to see the children get excited, but more importantly, Get involved.
- Speaker #4
You know, when we were over there prior to the groundbreaking, when we were just kind of, one of them times we went over there just kind of checking the space out, you know, it's still the hood, right? And so it was dudes on the block just kind of looking and...
- Speaker #0
What you doing?
- Speaker #4
Well, yeah, you know what I mean? And they're curious, like, you coming in our neighborhood and we don't know you? And so I started trying to introduce myself to some of the guys on the block. And my hope, like yours, is that we can work with them and or their kids, right? So they can realize, like, look, we need to protect this place. Because our kids and nieces and nephews are going there getting mentorship and access to some opportunity you know me so we want we definitely want to become part of the community.
- Speaker #0
So I got an idea for you.
- Speaker #4
What's up?
- Speaker #0
Another podcast. I love it.
- Speaker #4
Okay I'm up for it.
- Speaker #0
From Woodlawn on art.
- Speaker #4
That's amazing. You like that huh? Yeah I do. I do. I do. The story is developing as we speak.
- Speaker #0
The story is developing. The story's developing, the art's developing, and the community is developing. Thanks for being with us. I'm Hermine Hartman with Indigo Studio, and thank you for allowing us in your living room.
