Art Center Of Creatives To ‘Live Out Their Dreams’
Artists Dionne Victoria and Andre Brown opened the center last month in a two-flat building where they once lived. They wanted an all-ages space that would be especially welcoming to parent-artists.
Dionne Victoria and Andre Brown pose for a portrait at the recently opened Art Center of Englewood, 748 W. 69th St., in Englewood on Feb. 24, 2025. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
ENGLEWOOD — An art center established by local artists to uplift and give space to the South Side creative community has opened its bright green doors in Englewood, and everyone is welcome
Artists gathered for an afternoon of live music, exhibitions, and performances by youth harpist Jada K. and spoken word lyricist Adverb Williams at the grand opening of the Art Center of Englewood, or ACE, on Feb. 1.
The Art Center of Englewood, 748 W. 69th St., was founded by Dionne Victoria and Andre Brown in a two-flat building that was formerly the couple’s home. Victoria, an artist, educator, and entrepreneur, is also the founder of The Healing Academy, a nonprofit that offers educational and creative programs for people of all ages.
A gallery at the recently opened Art Center of Englewood, 748 W. 69th St., in Englewood, on Feb. 24, 2025. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
The art center has two gallery spaces, two open studios and a bedroom, and a backroom reserved for staging scenes in a film. Artists can rent the studios for $500 a month and use the gallery space for workshops or exhibits.
What Victoria calls “the study” is a space equipped with arts and crafts and books for children or adults to read, play, and relax. The center also has a playroom for artists who want to create art and are parents of young children, Victoria said.
Englewood has long deserved a “bright spot” that encourages people to understand their greatness and pursue their artistic dreams, Brown said.
Scratchboard art by Terrence Reese at the recently opened Art Center of Englewood, 748 W. 69th St., in Englewood on Feb. 24, 2025. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
The Art Center of Englewood celebrates the grit, resilience and talent that exists in the community, and tells parents they don’t have to forfeit their passions to have children, Victoria said.
“It’s important to me that people understand that they can live out their dreams,” Victoria said. “Creating a space like this allows people to see that they can do whatever they want. If there’s something you’re passionate about that’s in your heart, keep doing it. This is a space where you can.”
Dionne Victoria shows off the kids' art room at the recently opened Art Center of Englewood, 748 W. 69th St., in Englewood on Feb. 24, 2025. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Victoria grew up immersed in art. Dreams of creating a space akin to the Art Center of Englewood began when she was a child living on the South Side and in nearby Harvey, Illinois. Her father, Victor Simmons, a scratchboard artist, allowed her to draw on wood panel walls and express herself creatively between real-life nature science lessons.
“Art has been around me since I was very little,” Victoria said. “I always knew I wanted to be an artist, and I really like teaching people, too.”
Dionne Victoria shows off artwork at the recently opened Art Center of Englewood, 748 W. 69th St., in Englewood on Feb. 24, 2025. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
That passion for art took Victoria to the Zhou B Art Center, The More heART Foundation, Artists on the 9 and other spaces where she explored her career as a painter and educator.
When she eventually stumbled upon the South Side Community Art Center, Victoria quelled her dream of opening an art center, she said.
“I figured they did it already, so why do it again?” Victoria said. “Then I moved to Englewood around 2020 and realized nothing like the South Side Community Art Center was here. The model of that space inspired us to turn our two-flat building into an art space where people can do whatever they need to do.”
Andre Brown talks about the art at the recently opened Art Center of Englewood, 748 W. 69th St., in Englewood on Feb. 24, 2025. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Victoria and Brown received an $8,000 grant from the Hyde Park Art Center’s Artist Run Chicago Fund to help build out the Art Center of Englewood.
Instead of creating a registry for their wedding ceremony in September 2024, they asked family and guests to donate money or purchase art that would help support the art center. Supporters of the center were invited to the February celebration to see their contributions in action.
Dionne Victoria and Andre Brown pose for a portrait at the recently opened Art Center of Englewood, 748 W. 69th St., in Englewood on Feb. 24, 2025. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
The creative duo wanted to build a space for parent-artists to feel welcome, they said.
As artists and parents of young children themselves, Brown and Victoria have been told their kids “make too much noise, ask too many questions, need to sit down or be quiet,” Victoria said.
After “too many situations” where their family wasn’t welcome, the couple knew they needed a center where kids could be in the room, Victoria said.
“People are often told that if they want to be an artist, they have to be a starving artist, and if they want to have kids, they’re going to struggle. I don’t like either of those options,” Victoria said. “There’s a way, and that’s what we’re doing. We’re making a way so that artists who are also parents can be parents, love their kids, and have their kids be a part of their lives, while also following their passions and dreams.
You don’t have to give up on your passions and dreams for your kids.”
The Art Center of Englewood is open 2-6 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday or by appointment by emailing aceincchi@gmail.com or calling 708-733-2936.
