Thoughts on Parenthood is an interactive arts project examining the unique experience of being a parent in Chicago. In partnership with activist and photographer Tonika Johnson and 14 cultural organizations, Lyric's Learning and Creative Engagement team connected with families across the city of Chicago and gathered personal stories of parents—their greatest wishes, biggest needs, and proudest moments.
To learn more about Blue, an opera by Jeanine Tesori and Tazewell Thompson that served as inspiration for this project, visit us here.
Parents featured in this project were virtually interviewed by Tonika Johnson during the fall of 2020. Excerpts of these audio stories are available to listen to, and are accompanied by family portraits. These audio stories deal with themes of race, education, health, safety and identity, and offer a glimpse into the varying experiences of what it means to be a parent in Chicago.
Tonika Johnson is a social justice artist and photographer from Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood. As a trained photojournalist and teaching artist, she has been engaged in building an artistic legacy that gained citywide recognition in the last two years. Tonika Johnson is the creator of the Folded Map, a project that visually connects residents who live at corresponding addresses on the North and South sides of Chicago.
For the purposes of this survey, a “parent” is defined as anyone who has taken legal and/or social responsibility for a child. The goal of this project is to include as many unique stories of parenthood as possible.
Examples of parents include, but are by no means limited to:
Thank you to our community partners involved in helping us build this exciting project:
A co-production of The Glimmerglass Festival, Washington National Opera and Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Anonymous Donor
Nancy W. Knowles Student and Family Performances Fund
Dr. Scholl Foundation
Walter Family Foundation
The Richard P. & Susan Kiphart Family
Shure Charitable Trust
Eisen Family Foundation
Robert and Evelyn McCullen
Marsha Serlin and Jerry Sloan
Charles and M.R. Shapiro Foundation, Inc.
Terry J. Medhurst
Mazza Foundation
Buehler Family Foundation
Wintrust Community Banks
Helen Brach Foundation
The Siragusa Family Foundation
Polk Bros. Foundation
Lloyd A. Fry Foundation
Raynette and Ned Boshell
John and Rosemary Brown Family Foundation
John Hart and Carol Prins
The Simon Family Foundation
Header photo is from The Glimmerglass Festival production of Blue (Karli Cadel).
Thoughts on Parenthood photos provided by program participants.