CAPE announces its third annual open-form studio residency program!

Each year, we invite teaching artists and teachers from the CAPE network to propose projects to develop in our Bridgeport gallery. They can build on current art projects, collaborate on experiments, and incubate ideas not possible within the constraints of a school schedule.

Between July 1 and August 30, everyone is invited to stop by and witness the CAPE gallery transform into a studio by resident artists as they collaborate, experiment, and develop ideas related to their arts-integrated classroom investigations.

2025 residents: Annamarie Castellucci, Arturo Barrera, Ayako Kato, Emilie Robinson, Fay Jenson, Fiorella Gomez Bermudez and Amelia Cintula, Jessica Mueller, Kitty Conde, Laura Sáenz, Lisa Sikorski, Niema Qureshi and Betsy Zacsek, and Tony Collins.

Gallery hours 10 AM-4 PM Tuesday-Thursday or by appointment.

Scroll down to RSVP or click here.

Annamarie Castellucci

Annamaria Castellucci Cabral is a Chicago-based mixed media collage artist and art educator with over 20 years of experience. She creates sculptural works from discarded materials—especially cardboard—to explore themes of interconnection, care, and internal systems. A graduate of Columbia College Chicago’s Interdisciplinary Arts Education program, she teaches at Taft High School and partners with CAPE’s CoLab program. Her work has been exhibited in Chicago and along the East Coast. Through playful experimentation and arts integration, she encourages students to find meaning in overlooked materials and to value process as deeply as the final piece.

Arturo Barrera

Arturo Barrera is an Art educator in the Chicago Public School system, the third-largest school district in the United States. I served as an Assistant Principal for 4 years and have been teaching art education for over 34 years. He received a B.F.A. from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in Art Education, a M.F.A. from Northern Illinois University in printmaking and painting and an M.A. in Education Administration from Governors State University. I create and coordinates various mural projects that incorporate the talents of my students. I am a recipient of various grants, which benefit my students, the school, and various communities.

Ayako Kato

Described as  “moving everyday sculptures, artfully cast in naturalness” (Luzerner Zeitung, Switzerland), Ayako Kato, a kinetic philosopher/poet and 2023 United States Artist Fellow, is a contemporary experimental choreographer/dancer/improviser originally from Yokohama, Japan. Since 1998, Ayako Kato/Art Union Humanscape has been in deep collaboration with over 100 musicians and composers, presenting in Europe, Asia, and the US. In 2025, Ayako toured Japan and Taiwan as Suzuribako music and dance ensemble and also presented ETHOS: Ways of the Wind in collaboration with the University of Colorado Colorado Springs through the Heller Fellowship Award. Ayako has been working for CAPE since 2012.

Emilie Robinson

“My name is Emilie Robinson and I’m a photographer and videographer based in Chicago whose work explores the nuances of womanhood in relation to current events and transitional life stages. My creative practice often includes self-portraiture as a way to process and express strong internal experiences. My work was featured in CAPE’s “Practices in Proximity” exhibition curated by Josh Rios, where I exhibited a series of self-portraits exploring emotions. I aim to document vulnerability, resilience, and identity through a deeply introspective lens. Through this residency, I hope to connect with fellow artists, gain fresh perspective, and dedicate intentional time to my personal artistic growth—separate from commercial or client-based work.”

Fay Jenson

Fay Elizabeth is a multidisciplinary artist & art educator located in Chicago, IL.

She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with an emphasis in Art Education from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago & Masters in Science: Teaching and Learning Best Practices.

Fay received her National Board Certification in Visual Art – Early Adolescent/Young Adult, in Winter 2023.

Fiorella Gomez Bermudez and Amelia Cintula

Fiorella Hilda Gomez Bermudez is a Peruvian multidisciplinary artist and educator residing in Wheaton, Illinois. Through performance and the reactivation of recycled materials, her work delves into the intricacies of migration, belonging, and colorism within the Latinx community. Gomez skillfully transforms alternative materials such as plastic, dried flowers, and discarded items to create sculptures, installations, and fiber art that envision the immigrant experience in the United States.

As an art educator for K-5 students, she utilizes the Teaching for Artistic Behavior methodology to foster a studio-based environment and an inquiry-driven approach to learning. Additionally, she works as a teaching artist and curriculum consultant for CAPE, an organization that partners with the West Chicago School system to promote a creative collaboration between teachers and students through artistic exploration.

Her work has been showcased in numerous national and international galleries and institutions, including the Biblioteca Nacional del Perú, Blanden Memorial Museum, Triton Art Gallery, and The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Gomez has received a Dean’s Grant and the Anna McMaster Memorial Scholarship while pursuing her Bachelor of Fine Arts with a concentration in Art Education (BFAAE) at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Amelia Cintula began her creative journey as a street artist and photographer, driven by a passion for storytelling through visual expression. A graduate of Northern Illinois University with a degree in Media Studies and Film Production, she continues to explore and invent unique artistic mediums. After becoming a Gen-Ed teacher in the classroom, Amelia integrates CAPE inquiry-based learning to promote student autonomy and curiosity. Her teaching philosophy bridges art with core subjects, inspiring a love of learning that empowers students to make meaningful, creative connections across disciplines.

Jessica Mueller

Jessica Mueller is a transdisciplinary artist and educator from Chicago, exploring intersectionality through her single-parent household. Since 2004, she has taught with CAPE, partnering with Chicago Public Schools. A member of the Chicago ACT Collective and MotherArt: Revisited, Jessica has received the AIGA Heart of Gold Award and 3Arts Make A Wave grant. Her performance Public Weigh-In was featured at the Wolfsonian-FIU, Miami. Jessica’s work appears in Emergency Index Vols. 9,10 and Southwest Contemporary. Recent residencies include WORKROOM, PO Box Collective, Chicago; Nido II Living in the Play, Monte Castello di Vibio, Italy; and Poor Farm, Little Wolf, WI.

Kitty Conde

Ms. Kitty was born in St. Louis, Missouri. She comes from a long line of teachers. Her mother taught gifted 6th grade and was a pioneer in arts integration. She received a BA in Literature and Arts from the University of Michigan. She moved to New York City, then travelled around Europe for 3 months where she found her love of Art. Ms. Kitty returned to Chicago and received her Degree in Fine Arts at the School of the Art Institute. She moved to Madrid, Spain to teach English and study art. She taught English at the City Colleges then found her home here at Ravenswood School. She achieved her National Boards in 2006 and renewed in 2016. She graduated from graduate school at National Louis University and received her M.Ed. in 2007. She has two children, Isabel and James, who both graduated from Ravenswood School where they met and learned from our excellent staff.

In addition to her National Board Certification In Visual Arts, she’s been a finalist for the Golden Apple Award two times. She received the Illinois Arts Educator of the Year. She presents at Local and National Arts Education Conferences. She has travelled Internationally to share and learn about Arts integrative strategies, has taught at Columbia College and North Park University. She served on panels for the School of the Art Institute and University of Illinois. She has also hosted over 30 student teachers during her tenure at Ravenswood School.

Ms. Kitty currently works with art teachers throughout CPS and has played a prominent role in developing the respected “Every Art, Every Child” arts integration curriculum for elementary school teachers.

Laura Sáenz

Laura Sáenz is a interdisciplinary teaching artist, cultural researcher and facilitator from Mexico City, México. She received a degree in Visual Communications and Dance/Choreography from Mills College and then moved to Chicago where she left her job in advertising to become a teaching artist for CAPE (Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education) and an independent researcher for the Latin-American community in the U.S. Marriage led her to leave the country for a decade to live in Istanbul, Turkey where she gave birth to her two sons, taught Art and yoga and received a grant to research motherhood, female spaces and post-partum health with Turkish women. Returning to U.S., she renewed her work with CAPE, continues to teach community yoga and became a bilingual facilitator for Storycorps – a national organization that records and archives everyday stories of the American experience. She has also worked for Opportunities for All as an arts-integration consultant. Laura most recently applied her storytelling and choreography skills to film as part of Full Spectrum Features’ Community Storytellers program where she brought a story to life in a short film about one of her students encountering the Arts at Telpochcalli school.

Lisa Sikorski

Lisa Sikorski holds a BFA from Oregon College of Art and Craft and an MFA from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She has been a fellow with the Marie Christine Kohler Foundation, Milderd’s Lane, and the Laundromat Project. She was an Artist in Residence at the Elsewhere Collaborative, Mildred’s Lane, and the Wyckoff Farmhouse. She previously lived in Brooklyn, NY where she was a Textile Educator and Director of Youth Programs at the Textile Arts Center. She currently lives in the Chicagoland Area where she was born and raised. She is a teaching artist with CAPE. She is also a mom to one extremely spirited daughter and spends her free time succumbing to endless requests for homemade costumes.

Niema Qureshi and Betsy Zacsek

Betsy Zacsek has been a Teaching Artist since 2011. She is a graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago who has created and curated art in galleries, moving trucks, public spaces, parks, and schools.

Niema Qureshi is a Chicago-based interdisciplinary artist and educator whose work explores the intersections of art, education, and technology. Committed to arts integration as a way to break down disciplinary silos, her practice investigates how technology can be reimagined to create more sensory and tactile experiences.

Tony Collins

Thomas Collins aka Tony “720” a local mixed media/graffiti artist from the westside of Chicago. Thomas is passionate about the world of art and empowering others to see the world through the eyes of an artist. Thomas hopes his art will empower and encourage young creatives to take up space in this world. The hardships of living on the West Side helped Tony to develop valuable skills. With limited resources to afford expensive art supplies, Tony often turned disposed windows, doors or boards into art canvas.