2025 Year in Reflection: A Year in Production, Growth, and Impact
- Elgin Smith
- Mar 4
- 6 min read
2025 marked one of the most successful and transformative years in the history of Stomping Grounds Literary Arts Initiative (SGLAI). This year represented a shift from vision to scale, expanding our reach, deepening our partnerships, and amplifying youth voices across Chicago through literary arts, comics, music, and audiovisual storytelling.
Building Our Public Presence
One of the year’s earliest milestones was the official launch of our website, sglai.org. Having a centralized digital home allowed us to clearly communicate our mission, showcase youth work, and strengthen visibility with funders, partners, and the broader arts community. This launch set the tone for how SGLAI would be experienced publicly moving forward.
Locked Achievements: From Exhibition to Citywide Tour
On February 22, 2025, SGLAI premiered its first-ever gallery exhibition and published catalog, Locked Achievements, in partnership with Beautiful Cat Gallery and Optimus Comicx.
The exhibition featured:
Original comics and poetry by incarcerated and justice-impacted youth
Interviews with student artists
Reflections from Lead Comic Teaching Artist Nate Olison
The gallery remained open through March 30, 2025, culminating in a closing reception and gallery walkthrough at Pete’s Pizza on Granville.
A Citywide Tour
Following its success, Locked Achievements became a traveling exhibition:
Curt’s Café (May 2025) A café and workforce training space for youth impacted by incarceration. Two featured students were employed at the café and helped install the exhibition; they saw their work displayed while reporting to work each day.
Cook County Juvenile Detention Center (July 2, 2025) Served as both an exhibition stop and a final presentation featuring visiting artist Substantial and his band The Suns Hue (Baltimore, MD).
Little Village Public Library (September 13, 2025 – January 13, 2026) A front-lobby gallery installation supported by a spotlight from the Reva and David Logan Foundation.
At every stop, hosting institutions wrote letters of support and mitigation for each participating youth, advocating for their growth, creativity, and rehabilitation.
Open Stages & Live Performance
In 2025, SGLAI hosted six Open Stages, featuring artists including:
These events created accessible platforms for youth and professional artists to share space, performance, and mentorship.
Expanding to Uptown: HAIBAYO Cares (Argyle Street)
This year marked a major expansion into after-school programming in Uptown, in partnership with HAIBAYO to create a new program called HAIBAYO Cares.
Using the SGLAI model, youth participated in:
Comics workshops (Eddie Yeung)
Creative writing & poetry (Aya Ito)
DJing (CJ Buckets)
Beat-making & music production (Complex Theory)
Outcomes included:
Original songs recorded by every participant
A live recording session with Substantial & The Suns Hue
Youth performances at John Vietnam Night (Argyle Night Market)
One student is receiving recognition through the Gwendolyn Brooks Youth Poetry Awards
We also welcomed Uran Kabashi as Program Manager for this initiative.
Check out the recap video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VIUx4RYnZg
Major Milestone: Audiovisual Production Growth
One of SGLAI’s most significant developments in 2025 was the expansion of our Audiovisual Productions Program.
Chicago Soul Poem Series
Commissioned by Chicago Poet Laureate Avery R. Young, SGLAI filmed the Chicago Soul Poem (Soloem) Series, documenting 30 poets responding to the question: What is the soul of Chicago?
Highlights:
Sponsored by DCASE
20 videos selected for screening alongside the Millennium Park Concert Series
Featured artists included Starla Thompson, Ed Roberson, Nile Lansana, J. Ivy, Blaq Ice, Eve L. Ewing, Reginald Gibbons, Faylita Hicks, Rich Robbins, Ugochi Nwaogwugwu, Marguerite Harrold, Raych Jackson, Deana Dean, Vanessa De Guia, Olivia Mulcahy, Jenn Morea, April Gipson, Kim Ransom, Angela Jackson, cin salach, Patricia Smith, Billy Tuggle, Davon Cecil, Jamila Woods, Jermaine Nolen, Leslé Honoré, Avery R. Young, E’mon Lauren, Melinda Hernandez
Two SGLAI youth poems were selected:
Azreya’s poem read by Leslie Honore
Dahlia’s poem read by Raych Jackson
Our production team included professional filmmakers and SGLAI alum Cassius, recently released from incarceration, in his first paid job post-release.
Read the articles for each day of the shoot below.
The series premiered in December 2025 at the Poetry Foundation, with participating poets and youth in attendance.
The final compiled film surpassed 1 million views.
While filming at the Harold Washington Library, SGLAI was invited to lead a workshop at the 26th Annual Poetry Fest, featuring:
Locked Achievements artwork
Know Your Rights training
Performances by alumni Nakiyah and Cassius
Cassius also premiered his song “Undertaker,” originally created in SGLAI workshops and now available on Bandcamp.
Later that day, Nakiyah performed her poem “Freedom” for poetry legend Patricia Smith.
Pocket Con 2025 took place on November 29, 2025, at the Chicago History Museum amid a snowstorm and was still a resounding success.
Event highlights:
38 vendor artists
3 workshops
4 live youth performances (Zion Ali, The Happiness Club, Ultimate Threat Dance Crew, Microphone Misfits)
Game Room & Five Nights at Freddy’s escape room
300+ free goodie bags filled with comics and art
Despite reduced attendance due to the weather, the event:
Was livestreamed
Featured Draw On Demand digital artist commissions
Attracted new sponsors
Earned an invitation to return in 2026
Full recap article here:https://www.sglai.org/post/pocket-con-2025-blizzard-proof-community-built-and-full-of-heart
Mid-year, SGLAI moved workshops into a dedicated classroom space at the Illinois Youth Center–Chicago, allowing us to build three recording stations and significantly increase production capacity.
We closed the year with a Holiday Showcase, featuring:
-full article here: https://www.sglai.org/post/stomping-grounds-at-illinois-youth-center-holiday-showcase
2025 Impact at a Glance
150+ youth served in the juvenile system
40+ original songs recorded
8,000+ gallery visitors
500,000+ social media views
1M+ views for the Chicago Soul Poem film
4-city gallery tour across Chicago
28 submissions to the Gwendolyn Brooks Youth Poetry Awards
70+ letters of mitigation and advocacy written
$11,000+ raised through social media campaigns for 2026 programming
Expanded partnerships with:
Poetry Foundation
DCASE
Harold Washington Library
Eve Ewing
Chicago Poet Laureate
Official 501(c)(3) status secured
Looking Forward
As we move into 2026, Stomping Grounds Literary Arts Initiative enters a new chapter as an official 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. This milestone brings increased responsibility and opportunity, and we are energized by the work ahead.
One of our primary goals for 2026 is to establish a five-member Governance Board. Board members will support the organization's long-term sustainability through strategic guidance, advocacy, and a collective give/get goal of $10,000. The board will convene quarterly to help guide SGLAI toward its first annual fundraising gala, tentatively planned for October 2026.
We also plan to expand and deepen our partnerships, particularly around our Open Stage and community-based programming. Potential and ongoing partner sites include:
Garfield Park Conservatory
SZNL Gallery
Marquette Park
Buttercup Park
HAIBAYO Café (Uptown / Argyle Street)
If HAIBAYO secures additional funding in 2026, we look forward to expanding our shared after-school programming and continuing to serve youth in Uptown through creative writing, comics, and music production.
Programmatically, we anticipate welcoming three new teaching artists into the SGLAI family, allowing us to broaden our offerings and reach more young people with consistency and care.
We are actively seeking funding through the JTDC Foundation to secure sustainable, year-round support for our work inside the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center, ensuring that programming remains uninterrupted and deeply rooted.
Internally, 2026 will also be a year of organizational infrastructure:
Our first intern
A marketing consultant
A business liaison
Fully independent payroll and banking systems
At the core of our vision for 2026 is a commitment to consistency, maintaining and strengthening the relationships we have built with youth, partners, artists, and institutions. We believe that sustained presence, trust, and follow-through are the keys to long-term impact, and they will continue to guide our growth in the year ahead.
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