Announces 2020 Black Creativity Innovators


Museum Of Science And Industry Announces 2020 Black Creativity Innovators

The Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago located on 5700 South Lake Shore Drive, has unveiled the full list of 2020 Black Creativity Innovators to be honored during Black History Month. This group’s achievements will be on full display to guests during the Museum’s Black Creativity program, which offers the Innovation Studio, Jr. Science Cafés, Career Showcase and Juried Art Exhibition.

The Museum curates the annual list to celebrate the accomplishments of the African- American leaders transforming Chicago. This year’s group, which spans professions in science, technology, engineering, art and medicine (STEAM), includes:

Filmmakers Coodie and Chike, co-founders, Creative Control; STEM education advocate Tammera L. Holmes, founder, Aerostar Avion Institute, AeroStar Consulting Corporation; Industrial designer Jason Mayden, co-founder and CEO, Super Heroic; Creator of The Shred diet Dr. Ian Smith, physician and best-selling author; Healthcare advocate Dr. Cheryl Whitaker, chairman and CEO, NextLevel Health Illinois; Restaurateur and youth mentor Erick Williams, executive chef, Virtue.

“The 2020 Black Creativity Innovators are yet another example of the depth and breadth of the caliber of talent we are so fortunate to have in Chicago,” said David Mosena, president and chief executive officer, MSI. “We hope that by putting African-American achievement in STEAM fields front and center, the hundreds of thousands of children we reach every year can see themselves as active participants in the future of science, technology, engineering, art and medicine.”

The Black Creativity Innovators will be featured inside the Museum’s Innovation Studio, a creative space for guests to become innovators themselves. Through the stories of these STEAM leaders, students and families will discover the many ways inventive genius can take place, and will have access to a variety of materials and tools to create prototypes that solve everyday challenges using design thinking.

MSI’s Black Creativity program will celebrate a major milestone in 2020 with the 50th anniversary of the Black Creativity Juried Art Exhibition. This exhibition is the longest- running African-American art exhibition in the U.S., and features nearly 200 works by African-American artists from across the country, including youth artists. Many artists featured in the Black Creativity Juried Art Exhibition have gone on to critical acclaim, such as Hebru Brantley, Harmonia Rosales, Theaster Gates and Amanda Williams. Black Creativity opens January 20, 2020.

For more information, visit msichicago.org or call (773) 684-1414.

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