Chi Sounds Like

Formerly Brooklyn, now Chicago-based visual artist Damiane Nickles experiments with canvas painting, collages and other mediums, exploring the relationship between form, texture and color in his pieces. Inspired by how connected Chicagoans are, he works to bring that same feeling of connectivity to his art, blending bold colors and intricate patterns influenced by his Trinidadian heritage with a s...

Entrepreneur, proud Chicagoan and first-generation Mexican American Lucy Angel Camarena was inspired by her heritage to create several organizations highlighting and supporting Little Village. She owns Flores Campo Santo, a floral shop inspired by Mexican flowers and arrangements; she co-founded Grocery Run Club to support food security on the city’s South and West Sides, from which came an actual...

Intimacy coordinator and founder of the Cowgirl Workout Tyomi Morgan has made a name for herself educating the public on sexual health and wellness. Inspired to start her work due to the lack of sexual health information geared toward Black women, she created a blog and YouTube channel, Glamerotica101, in 2011 focused on the topic. She now works as an intimacy coordinator advocating for the actors...

Creator of Folded Map Project and proud Englewood resident Tonika Lewis Johnson is dedicated to telling the story of the diverse city she was raised in, metaphorically “folding the map” of Chicago by connecting residents on different sides of the city. As a photojournalist, she is inspired by the beautiful scenery of the Chicago landscape — specifically in Englewood, the neighborhood she calls hom...

Darien Sea is a Chicago-based musician and proponent of the city’s DIY scene. He helps to book shows at a growing list of small local venues including Cole’s Bar, the Burlington and Golden Dagger. For Darien, Chicago is home to some of the best music in the world and is hopeful to see the city grow into a melting pot of all cultural and musical identities. This is what his Chicago sounds like. Thi...

Chicago filmmaker and community organizer Colette Ghunim hopes to spread love through her films. Her passion for storytelling branches out into activism, and she co-founded Mezcla Media Collective in 2017 in an effort to share the skills she’s learned with others and empower them to share their stories. Her current project ‘Traces of Home’ is a film about her upbringing and serves as a rediscovery...

Chicago director and theatrical story-builder Jordan Ratliff uses his love for theater to create new perspectives for audience members, amplifying stories not often found in the spotlight. Ratliff focuses on stories of the LGBTQ+ community, and is currently making his directorial debut with ‘One In Two,’ a play which shares the story of playwright Donja R. Love discovering he is HIV positive. Thro...

In honor of Vocalo’s 15th anniversary, we’re looking back on some of our favorite archived segments of “This Is What Chicago Sounds Like.” Freelance journalist and music critic Britt Julious uses her skills as a writer to tell all types of stories, from music and art to the intersectionality of feminism, gender and sexuality. For this segment of “This Is What Chicago Sounds Like,” produced by Fyod...

In celebration of Vocalo’s 15th anniversary, we’re looking back on some of our favorite archived segments of “This Is What Chicago Sounds Like.” In October 2017, Vocalo sat down with street artist Sentrock, whose art can be seen all over the city, from viaducts to libraries, and has become part of what it means to be a Chciagoan. In his interview, he spoke about his introduction to making art, bei...

In honor of Vocalo’s 15th anniversary, we’re looking back on some of our favorite archived segments of “This Is what Chicago Sounds Like.” In September 2017, Vocalo producer Fyodor Sahknovski heard from Sam Kirk about her journey as an artist, what it means to promote meaningful conversations in public space through art and what inspires her revolutionary work. This is what her Chicago sounds like...

In celebration of Vocalo's 15th anniversary, we're looking back on some of our favorite archived segments of "This Is What Chicago Sounds Like." Back in March 2018, Vocalo producer Fyodor Sakhnovski sat down with Ciera McKissick, the founder of AMFM. AMFM is an organization supporting Chicago artists by sharing their work on a large scale and planning community-centered arts events. As a queer wom...

In celebration of Vocalo's 15th anniversary, we're looking back on some of our favorite archived segments of "This Is What Chicago Sounds Like." Back in February 2018, Vocalo producer Fyodor Sakhnovski sat down with Dr. Aymar Jèan Christian — an associate professor of communication studies and director of the Media and Data Equity Lab at Northwestern University, and the founder of OTV - Open Telev...

Chicago illustrator and painter Ennis Martin's passion for the sci-fi genre began at a young age. His parents introduced him to various films, books, and television shows that allowed him to foster curiosity and creativity. He is known for his iconic paintings of whales with feet and other sci-fi creatures and uses the same passion for sci-fi to create art that inspires younger generations to tell...

Anti-racism organizer and owner of 51st Ward Books Nina Sánchez uses creativity to liberate her community and forge a better future for her community and her family. She became deeply involved in the Pilsen community at a young age, and now works toward a liberated present through 51st Ward Books and other community-centered anti-racism work. This is what her Chicago sounds like. This segment of “...

Chicago-based multimedia artist and educator Tony Smith built his career connecting the past and present of Chicago artists, activists, musicians and other cultural leaders. Smith has a hand in many of Chicago’s artistic institutions; he has worked at the South Side Community Art Center, taught classes at Hyde Park Art Center and his work has been featured in the DuSable Black History Museum. Havi...

Ivan Vazquez is a Mexican muralist and painter making waves in the Chicago art scene. His work is inspired by Mexican and indigenous Aztec art as well as Chicago hip-hop culture and his time as a b-boy growing up. Being part of the b-boy community introduced him to hip-hop, which continues to influence his art today. Vazquez also uses art as a tool to heal from past traumas, and an opportunity to...

As the founder of DTK Ceramics, Chicago ceramicist David T. Kim creates pottery with the hope of fostering connection. Inspired by Korean poetry and his parents’ ties to the restaurant industry, he creates both dinnerware designed to interact with dishes in fine dining establishments (many of which have Michelin stars) and everyday items to become part of someone’s routine. He hopes for all of his...

Chicago rapper, dancer, social worker, mother and educator Ọmọlará Mino, also known by her artist name Omo Nyame, works to shape the future through teaching. Mino teaches a course on African American history which she calls Sankofa, meaning “to retrieve" in the Ghanaian Twi language. The course allows her students to interact with their history in a different way, reconnecting Black students with...

Hac Tran is the co-founder of HAIBAYÔ, a creative organization which strives to amplify the Southeast Asian diasporal culture of Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood — specifically, the Asia on Argyle community. He works to fight gentrification in the area and advocate for the people who call it home through his work as a cultural ambassador for the Uptown Chamber of Commerce. This is what his Chicago so...

Jeanine Valrie Logan is a certified midwife and birth worker fighting for reproductive justice in underserved Chicago and Illinois communities. She is the founder and lead steward of Chicago South Side Birth Center, with hopes to open in 2023, which will strive to offer individualized care to Black and Brown mothers and infants seeking alternatives to hospitals. This is what her Chicago sounds lik...

Tempestt Hazel is a Bronzeville-rooted archivist and writer who works to redefine who and what is conserved as art history. She’s also the co-founder of Sixty Inches From Center, a collective of writers, artists, curators, librarians and archivists who have published and produced collaborative projects about artists, archival practice and culture in the Midwest since 2010. Tempestt and Sixty Inche...

Christopher LeMark is the founder and CEO of Coffee, Hip-Hop & Mental Health, a Chicago-based nonprofit working to destigmatize mental health struggles, specifically in the Black community. They use a coffee shop model as a financial conduit for the organization to provide mental health resources. LeMark and the organization aim to discuss what inspired him to create Coffee, Hip Hop and Mental...

zakkiyyah najeebah dumas-o’neal is a multidisciplinary artist, co-founder and co-organizer of Concerned Black Image Makers, and the public programs and engagement manager at the South Side Community Art Center in Bronzeville. As her art centers on themes of exploring and finding community connection, her work at CBIM and the SSCAC serves to build community connection — and preserve the legacy of B...

James Kao is co-director and co-programmer of Hyde Park’s 4th Ward Project Space, a local space for Chicago artists to exhibit their work with full creative freedom. Kao aims to build the city’s artistic community through his work at the exhibition space and his painting and drawing classes. This is what his Chicago sounds like. This episode of “This Is What Chicago Sounds Like” was produced by Ar...

Antonio Díaz Oliva, or ADO, is a bilingual professor, writer, father and dog owner from Chile living in Bucktown. His work centers around encouraging academic conversations about Chicago and U.S. multilingual culture, and his new book ‘Campus’ serves as a Latinx-focused novel about higher education — a niche already saturated with English-centric works. This is what his Chicago sounds like. This e...