Who We Serve
At Ingenuity, we unite educators, public sector leaders, and cultural organizations to build a connected and innovative arts education ecosystem. Through collaborative partnerships and data-driven advocacy, we work to ensure every Chicago Public School student has access to high-quality arts education.
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600+
Chicago Public Schools (CPS)
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1,600+
Arts Teachers
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300,000+
CPS Students
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400
Arts Partner Organizations
Arts Education & Opportunity Across Chicago
Arts education cannot be examined in isolation; rather, understanding equity in the arts requires understanding equity in opportunity across the city as a whole. Ingenuity’s State of the Arts showed that a clear correlation emerged: Schools with greater access to opportunity, as measured by the CPS Opportunity Index (lower scores indicate more access to opportunity), were more likely to achieve higher arts education Creative Schools Certification ratings. Community areas on the north and northwest sides of the city were significantly more likely to have a higher percentage of schools rated as Excelling. There is a need for targeted, equity-driven strategies to ensure that every student has access to high-quality arts programming.
Access to Excelling Arts Programs by Student Demographics
Data from Ingenuity’s State of the Arts highlights the percentage of students from each racial/ethnic group attending schools rated Excelling on the Creative Schools Certification. In 2023–24, only 36% of Black students had access to Excelling arts programs, compared to 45% of all CPS students. Black students were less likely than White, Asian, and Latine students to have access to a school that was rated as Excelling. These trends remain consistent with prior years and align with the distribution of opportunity across the city through the CPS Opportunity Index, reflecting long-standing disparities in investment and opportunity across the city. This gap underscores the urgent need to bridge the divide and ensure equitable arts access for every student.
Building a Citywide Coalition for Arts Education Access
Every child in Chicago deserves the opportunity to create. By uniting educators, partners, leaders, and donors, we’re working to build a citywide coalition that makes arts education access a reality for all students.
Providing tools, funding, and professional learning to grow arts access from the inside out
We support CPS teachers, arts liaisons, principals, and school leadership teams with the tools, funding, and professional learning they need to grow and sustain arts education. From the classroom to the district level, we help expand instruction, integrate creative practices into everyday learning, and build lasting, schoolwide plans for arts education.
Connecting cultural organizations and teaching artists to classrooms
We strengthen relationships between CPS and Chicago’s arts community, offering standards, data, and networking opportunities that help arts partners deliver impactful, equity-driven programs.Helpful Links:
Driving investments into arts equity and innovation
Through targeted investments, we direct resources to schools with limited access and high potential—fueling innovation, expanding opportunity, and supporting students’ creative growth. At the same time, we equip influential leaders and coalitions with the data and insights needed to shape policies that protect and advance arts learning system-wide.
