Fox Chicago reports: Kennedy-King College honors local filmmaker named MacArthur “Genius” Fellow, film event open to the public

Kennedy-King College and the entire Englewood community to celebrate a new MacArthur Fellow and social justice artist, Tonika Lewis Johnson, share her film titled The Folded Map Project; the movie showing is free and open to the public

CHICAGO—Kennedy-King College’s Center of Equity for Creative Arts (CECA) will host a community celebration honoring Englewood-born social justice artist Tonika Lewis Johnson, recipient of a 2025 MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, on Thursday, November 7, from 6:30 to 9pm at 740 W. 63rd Street in Chicago (U-building, the theatre on the campus). Doors open at 6pm.

In addition, Kennedy-King College will celebrate a new art installation!

The free public event will feature a live discussion with Ms. Lewis Johnson and a screening of her film, The Folded Map Project—The Movie. The evening will highlight Johnson’s creative work, which amplifies stories of Chicago’s South Side while challenging systems of segregation and inequity.

Johnson, a photographer, social justice artist, and co-founder of the Englewood Arts Collective, is also known for projects that include: Inequity for Sale and unBlocked Englewood. Through her art, she invites communities to explore the social and historical forces that shape neighborhoods across the city.

Watch the interview on Fox Chicago 32 

Johnson’s recognition as a MacArthur Fellow honors her ongoing commitment to community-driven art and her impact on reimagining how Chicagoans see and understand one another.

Event details:

What: Film showing and celebration of Tonika Lewis Johnson, 2025 MacArthur Fellow and Social Justice Artist

When: 6:30–9pm on Thursday, November 7, 2025; Doors open at 6pm

Where: Kennedy-King College, Center of Equity for Creative Arts, 740 W. 63rd St., Chicago

Cost: Free and open to the public

For more information, email CECA@CCC.edu

Media Contact: Veronica Resa, City Colleges of Chicago (e) vresa1@ccc.edu