A love letter to ChiArts

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Illinois State chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

“The arts are always the first thing they cut”- Luke Russell, my professor.

Because of the absolute chaos Chicago is in right now, voting has been done to stop funding different programs. Charter schools around the city have been shut down and one of these schools includes The Chicago High School for the Arts, the high school I attended from 2019-2023. The Chicago High School for the Arts (aka ChiArts) is the first and only public arts school in Chicago. Although it is a public high school, it’s not fully part of the CPS system; it’s technically considered a charter school because students are accepted based on auditions and portfolios. It’s an extraordinary idea of a school: from 8 am to 1 pm, students attend academic classes and then after lunch from 2-5 pm, students attend classes dedicated to their art. ChiArts offers dance, creative writing, theatre, musical theatre, visual art, music and vocal classes- taught by working artists all over the city. ChiArts gives talented kids opportunities they might not have previously had- opportunities to explore their art with teachers who have real world experience. 

As the granddaughter of a high school theatre director, I was captivated by theatre since the very first play my grandma took me to. Not only was I drawn to the singing and lights and jokes that got the whole audience to laugh, but I also got to meet and take pictures with all of the cool older kids and saw the behind the scenes of how they built a community and transformed into different characters. Following my grandma around as she helped the girls in the dressing rooms and holding hands with the cast as they prayed before each show, I knew right away that I wanted to be a part of that, and although I did a few summer theatre camps, I wanted more. That is why in 2019, I auditioned for the ChiArts theatre department. When my mom called me and told me that I got in, I was amazed and flattered that they saw potential in me.

My freshman year was a blast- as the weird quiet girl who drew pictures in the back of class, I finally felt like I fit in and found my place surrounded by people just like me. Although my freshman year got interrupted by Covid, the teachers did the best they could with what they were given, and I was eager to return junior year. 

ChiArts after Covid was, in all honesty, a mess. There were disputes, administrative decisions that students and teachers did not agree with, and strikes. We as a collective fought to hold our school to the promises it gave us back in 2019, a school of creativity and opportunity. My junior year, I was one of the leads in the school play, and the feeling I had as I stood on stage in a purple dress with the lights shining on me was incomparable to anything else I have ever experienced. I was finally the cool older kid on stage that I wanted to be since I saw my first play. 

Although my high school experience consisted of a lot of drama (which is not surprising at all since I was literally in the drama department) and stress, I cannot be more grateful for all of the experiences it gave me, the knowledge I gained and the truly remarkable people I met along the way. 

Even though the decision to shut down ChiArts for the next academic year is not 100% final, I hope ChiArts’ legacy is remembered as what it was always meant to be- a place for weird, talented city kids to feel at home.