Mission & History

Homeroom designs artistic projects and programs with two core values: conversation and collaboration. By bringing together artists, audiences, curators, and venues, Homeroom creates space for generating and exploring fresh ideas and shared practices of art and community-making.

Founded in 2008, Homeroom is an independent, nonprofit resource for creative Chicagoans to develop and produce original multidisciplinary arts programming, free from financial and artistic constraints. Homeroom supports artists in music, dance, film, visual arts, literature, and other performative mediums. We encourage multidisciplinary collaborations to build community, audiences, and sustainability. To date, Homeroom has presented 500+ IL-based artists. Focusing on commissioning new works, Homeroom has presented over 200 musical compositions and works of visual art.

Programming Goals

Homeroom’s collaborative, multidisciplinary arts programs are guided by the following goals:

• Highlight new collaborations, perspectives, and presentational formats;

• Bring together artists from different genres and media, often challenging them to produce work outside their standard practice or with new and relevant considerations;

• Commission artists to make new work whenever possible;

• Compensate artists and curators for their time and talent;

• Partner with artists and organizations who best fit the qualities of each program; and

• Provide insight and transparency into artistic and curatorial processes.

Partnerships

In lieu of a physical space, Homeroom maintains a network of venues and programming partners to co-produce events. Partnerships bolster Homeroom's programming by expanding the artistic communities and audiences our performances reach. This collaborative approach also strengthens the existing artistic resources available in Chicago.

Recent partners include:

Sustainability & Support

Homeroom’s programs are made possible thanks to our generous donor community.

In 2025, Homeroom also acknowledges essential support from the Illinois Arts Council (through federal funds provided by the National Endowment for the Arts), the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, and the DEW Foundation.