BYRON SIGCHO-LOPEZ
Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez was sworn in to serve on the Chicago City Council in May of 2019 as Alderman of Chicago's 25th Ward which includes the communities of Pilsen, Chinatown, Little Italy, BJ Wright Courts and ABLA Homes, West Loop, South Loop, McKinley Park, and Heart of Chicago. As an immigrant who came to the US alone as a teenager, Byron found care in everyday teachers, coaches, and community members who gave him shelter, guidance, taught him the English language, and gave him a pathway to a good education. Ten years ago, Byron settled in Pilsen, a historic immigrant working class neighborhood in Chicago and worked as an adult education teacher, founding the bilingual adult education program at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He became politically active after former-Mayor Rahm Emanuel listed a neighborhood public school for closure where Byron volunteered as a soccer coach and led community efforts to keep that school open which were ultimately successful. As Alderman, Byron was the Chief Sponsor of an ordinance to curtail harassment of homeowners who have been targeted by predatory developers. He is currently a PhD candidate in the field of Urban Education Policy.
WEBSITE:
https://www.25thward.org
PRESS:
Chicago Tribune: Alderman demands leaders address crisis facing migrants
WTTW News: Environmental Advocates Push for Stronger City Efforts to Monitor and Curb Pollution
Chicago Sun-Times:
Ald. Sigcho-Lopez, advocates say city’s COVID-19 relief money has largely gone to contractors
ARTIST MARIO CASTILLO
Mario Enrique Castillo Enriquez is an American artist born in Mexico. His mother was the well known outsider artist, Maria Enriquez de Allen. His father, Manuel Castillo de Leon, passed away when Castillo was about 14 months old. His step-father, Harold Allen, was a prominent photographer and Chair of the Department of Photography at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Castillo received his BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and his MFA from California Institute of the Arts. After SAIC, he did a year of graduate study at USC where he continued to do his sound pieces and “Instant Art” installations. At Cal Arts, he fell under the influence of John Baldessari. He also worked closely with Allan Kaprow (performance), Nam June Paik (video), Patrick O’Neill and Jules Engle (film), Morton Subotnick (electronic music), Paul Brach (painting), and Stephan Von Hume (kinetics).
Of the Chicago’s pioneer Latino artists of the mural movement that started in Chicago in 1967, Castillo was the first to start painting murals at Lane Tech in 1964. He also did the first Chicano mural, the first multicultural mural, the first Abstract mural, and the first anti-Viet Nam War mural. His unique approach to mural painting with youth, served as a prototype for future muralists. After retiring from teaching Art and Design at institutions of higher learning, Castillo has continued to be prolific in creating new art, especially digital. His work is in the collections of eleven museums throughout the states, and other Art Centers and University collections.
One of Castillo’s paintings was used to represent Mexican Art on the front cover of the 9th edition of Oxford University Press text-book, “The Course of Mexican History” authored by Meyer, Sherman, & Deeds (ISBN # 978-0-19-973038-4). Inside this book are art reproductions of Mexico’s greatest artists such as Rivera, Siqueiros, Orozco, & Tamayo.
The SC Association Center for Research, SCALAR, created a small publication that contains Latin American artists who are representing the visual arts for Latinos. Castillo is one of the eight; he is included with Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, Roberto Matta, Raul Anguiano, Carlos Almaraz, José Bedia, and Mario Carreno Morales.
Castillo’s work is found in many private and public collections including:
Art Institute of Chicago
Chicago’s City Hall
Evergreen State College, Olympia, WA
National HCC Art Museum, Albuquerque, NM
National Museum American Art, Washington, D.C.
Notre Dame University
Portland Art Museum
San Antonio Art Museum
San Diego Museum of Art
San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art
San Francisco Museum of Art
San Francisco Museum of Contemporary Art
The Albuquerque Museum
The Denver Art Museum
The Mexican Museum, San Francisco
The National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago, IL
Tucson Museum of Art
U of G, Ocotlán, Jalisco, Mexico
Western Illinois University, Macomb, IL.
The mission of COLBY GALLERY is to exhibit todays most passionate and inspirational contemporary artists who create new paradigms of the empowered human experience and potential. COLBY GALLERY offers a wide range of original artwork and prints for private collections and installation in select public spaces.
COLBY GALLERY
1626 West 18th Street,
Chicago, IL, 60608, USA
colbyluck@sbcglobal.net
312-607-8353
Born in New York City, Colby Luckenbill grew up on the East side of Manhattan in a neighborhood of Diplomats next to the United Nations which strongly influenced her perspective that we are all one multifaceted human family of infinite potential. Her mother, Margaret E. Luckenbill, a painter, sculptor and humanitarian; her father Donald N. Luckenbill, Jr., a renown architect; and her grandfather, Donald N. Luckenbill Sr., a highly respected composer and musician, all taught her the language of art from a very young age.
Luckenbill attended a small private college preparatory school in Brooklyn Heights, The Packer Collegiate Institute. In addition she took classes at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Elizabeth Seeger School in SoHo, and was awarded entrance to college level summer art courses at SUNY Ferdonia and Chautauqua Institution. She was the recipient of numerous artistic awards, including the Scholastic Art Award for New York, which led to state and national recognition including publication in Who's Who and being honored personally by New York Mayor Edward Koch.
Choosing to explore light and color, Luckenbill moved to the South of France to study painting at The Leo Marchutz Atelier near Aix En Provence. Following a year in Europe she moved to Chicago, Illinois to attend The School of The Art Institute of Chicago to major in fine art and filmmaking. While spending an exchange year in California at The San Francisco Art Institute she became interested in Latin American Art which led to intensive study trips through SAIC to Mexico and Central America where she also learned Spanish. She was especially moved by her visit to San Cristobal de las Casa in Chiapas, Mexico and nearby Indigenous villages.
Luckenbill was awarded residency at the renown Three Arts Club in Chicago after graduation and worked in numerous art galleries including the gallery of Latin American Art pioneer Aldo Castillo. In 2005 she moved to the historic Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago and opened her own art gallery, COLBY GALLERY, to be close to the vibrant Mexican and artistic communities. Luckenbill quickly became integrated into the cultural landscape of the neighborhood. COLBY GALLERY represents local, national and international artists who inspire the human spirit. The gallery has participated in the annual 18TH STREET PILSEN OPEN STUDIOS art studio and gallery walk each year. Luckenbill served as the Assistant Director for their 10th year anniversary in 2012 when she brought in more artists than ever before including past participants and new local talent.
Currently Luckenbill curates exhibitions and works closely with artists assisting them in developing creative projects and promoting their careers. She assists artists of all disciplines in bringing their lives and work into greater alignment with their soul's purpose and high vibrational living.
ARTIST STATEMENT - COLBY LUCKENBILL
The archaic definition of Curate is "any ecclesiastic entrusted with the cure of souls." It is derived from the root of "cure" as in “curative: serving to cure or heal; a remedy.” A Curator seeks to do this not in a hospital, nor a church, but in the celebrated walls of a cultural center, a gallery or a museum. When curating exhibits it is my deep and heart felt mission to connect with the souls and visions of today's most passionate and inspirational contemporary artists and unite them to form ever new paradigms of the empowered human experience and potential.
All images and text copyright Colby Gallery and the individual Artists
Luckenbill attended a small private college preparatory school in Brooklyn Heights, The Packer Collegiate Institute. In addition she took classes at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Elizabeth Seeger School in SoHo, and was awarded entrance to college level summer art courses at SUNY Ferdonia and Chautauqua Institution. She was the recipient of numerous artistic awards, including the Scholastic Art Award for New York, which led to state and national recognition including publication in Who's Who and being honored personally by New York Mayor Edward Koch.
Choosing to explore light and color, Luckenbill moved to the South of France to study painting at The Leo Marchutz Atelier near Aix En Provence. Following a year in Europe she moved to Chicago, Illinois to attend The School of The Art Institute of Chicago to major in fine art and filmmaking. While spending an exchange year in California at The San Francisco Art Institute she became interested in Latin American Art which led to intensive study trips through SAIC to Mexico and Central America where she also learned Spanish. She was especially moved by her visit to San Cristobal de las Casa in Chiapas, Mexico and nearby Indigenous villages.
Luckenbill was awarded residency at the renown Three Arts Club in Chicago after graduation and worked in numerous art galleries including the gallery of Latin American Art pioneer Aldo Castillo. In 2005 she moved to the historic Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago and opened her own art gallery, COLBY GALLERY, to be close to the vibrant Mexican and artistic communities. Luckenbill quickly became integrated into the cultural landscape of the neighborhood. COLBY GALLERY represents local, national and international artists who inspire the human spirit. The gallery has participated in the annual 18TH STREET PILSEN OPEN STUDIOS art studio and gallery walk each year. Luckenbill served as the Assistant Director for their 10th year anniversary in 2012 when she brought in more artists than ever before including past participants and new local talent.
Currently Luckenbill curates exhibitions and works closely with artists assisting them in developing creative projects and promoting their careers. She assists artists of all disciplines in bringing their lives and work into greater alignment with their soul's purpose and high vibrational living.
ARTIST STATEMENT - COLBY LUCKENBILL
The archaic definition of Curate is "any ecclesiastic entrusted with the cure of souls." It is derived from the root of "cure" as in “curative: serving to cure or heal; a remedy.” A Curator seeks to do this not in a hospital, nor a church, but in the celebrated walls of a cultural center, a gallery or a museum. When curating exhibits it is my deep and heart felt mission to connect with the souls and visions of today's most passionate and inspirational contemporary artists and unite them to form ever new paradigms of the empowered human experience and potential.
All images and text copyright Colby Gallery and the individual Artists