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As the school year marches to a close, many people are searching for ways to mark this important milestone for the class of 2020 graduates in their lives. To help, we’ve designed free, customizable graduation cards — we’re calling them “Grad Grams” — that we’ll assemble and post to Instagram.
All you have to do is complete and submit the form below; then, we’ll post to WBEZ’s @chigradgrams Instagram account and tag your graduate’s Instagram handle.
Hurry! Submissions close at 11:59 PM CT on June 7, 2020. WBEZ will post your card to the @chigradgrams account throughout June and July.
About our student artists:
Luis Eguiguren
The Chicago High School for the Arts, Class of 2020
I started painting in high school at ChiArts, although I have always loved drawing from a young age. What has always inspired me is nature, animals, observing the people around me. I think there is a lot to learn from animals and plants and I would like to study biology or environmental engineering in college, at UIUC. I am a sporadic worker — but I have learned that you have to embrace things and take risks to grow and learn. I am very grateful for going to ChiArts because it is a great community of artists that I will miss. I think in the times we are going through right now, art is especially important to capture the changing times.
Sól Fuller
The Chicago High School for the Arts, Class of 2020
I’m a graduating senior and illustrator at The Chicago High School For The Arts. And one thing I learned from being able to attend an arts high school is the importance of really allowing viewers to see who you are as a person and what you value through the art that you make. I consider myself to be an intuitive person who deeply values self reflection. And given that, those strong aspects of my mind have communicated to me through my artwork. I always create in a mental space of introspection, and my main motivation behind my art making is being able to re imagine my most pivotal and transformative life moments through the people in my life that have contributed to them. In fact, this is how my love for illustration began. Throughout my entire life, I’ve been surrounded by mostly women, and was always captivated by the way drawing them made me feel empowered and how it has helped me discover the way I truly perceive them. My artistic style and process is inspired by portraiture and surrealism, two traditional art styles that I have portrayed through my own personal perspective.
Preshay Johnson
Walter H. Dyett High School for the Arts, Class of 2020
I was born and raised on the South Side of Chicago. From the age of five I always liked to paint and color. I got into art by looking through vintage magazines and old Hollywood films. I am an artist who likes to draw inspiration from black culture, films, and media that I see today. I will be attending Clark Atlanta University this fall to study art and fashion.
Victor Luis Garcia
The Chicago High School for the Arts, Class of 2020
I am a queer Mexican man from the Ashburn neighborhood on the Southwest side of Chicago.
I have been creating art since I was a little kid. I loved drawing animals which then led me to playing a game where one person would pick an animal and another person would pick a different animal and I would combine them together creating a hybrid of the two. This was the start to an ongoing passion of mine, creature design. I took a few arts courses at a place called Marwen where they provide free arts courses for under resourced families. I never made the decision to become an artist until I attended the Chicago High School for the Arts. ChiArts iswhere I became determined to learn the fundamentals and formulate my own voice as an artist.
I draw inspiration from everything and everything. From the way leaves fall on the ground to the way buildings are erected. I am also very moved by the unique stories everyone has to share. The idea that not one person will live the exact same life excites me. There are so many unique and complex stories to be told and not everyone is given the same opportunity to have their voice heard. I believe as an artist it is my job to help share these stories so that everyone can connect and have a better understanding of someone they might not have thought twice about.
