Celebrated artist and activist Tonika Lewis Johnson ’03 returns to Columbia College Chicago to reflect on receiving the “genius grant” and the work that brought the recognition.

Artist, activist, and native of Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood, Columbia College Chicago alum Tonika Lewis Johnson ’03 has long used photography, maps, data, and storytelling to draw attention to segregation in Chicago. Recently, Lewis was recognized for this work by receiving the prestigious 2025 MacArthur Fellowship, commonly known as the “genius grant.”  

Johnson and her work first resonated with the “Folded Map Project,” which visually connected residents who live at corresponding addresses on the North and South Sides of Chicago, placing a spotlight on urban segregation. She followed that with “Inequity for Sale,” a public art project that showcased how Englewood Land Sale Contracts (LSCs) during the 50s and 60s directly contributed to the wealth gap and community disinvestment. And currently she partners with the Chicago Bungalow Association on “unBlocked Englewood,” to strategically repair homes, beautify blocks, and build community, offering a powerful blueprint for restoring dignity and wealth to historically disinvested neighborhoods.  

Still reeling from receiving the MacArthur Fellowship in October, Johnson came back to Columbia College Chicago’s campus to reflect on the recognition and the work and experiences that lead to it.  

How did it feel to be recognized by the MacArthur Foundation with their “genius grant”?   

I’m still processing it. It’s only been a month since the announcement and two months since I found out, and everything since then has been a whirlwind of videos, photos, and embargoed interviews. Now I’m finally getting to sit with what it means. 

Hearing from so many Chicagoans — especially with me being the sole Chicagoan in this cohort — helps me see how this recognition reflects not just my work but the power of storytelling and community history in this city. Chicago often gets attacked politically, but the creative, cultural, and historical work happening here is innovative and influential. 

This fellowship feels like a symbol of that. I want to do right by being our “mascot” for 2025 by going further with my work, using arts and culture to support community development in disinvested neighborhoods, and continuing the conversations Chicago has been leading around segregation and history. 

You’ve said this award “belongs to Englewood.” How do you see your work continuing to serve and uplift your neighborhood? 

My neighborhood is the reason my projects exist. If Englewood residents hadn’t trusted me enough to participate in my “weird little projects”— like pairing people with someone on the same street on the North Side — none of this work would’ve happened. 

My work shines a light on the fact that historically disinvested places have value. When people learn about me through the MacArthur Fellowship, they also learn about Englewood, and they see it through a different lens. That narrative shift is crucial for community development. 

I’m proud that Englewood can now say it is home to a MacArthur Fellow. That’s not something people typically associate with the neighborhood, and it matters. 

The Folded Map Project has become a defining work in Chicago’s dialogue about segregation. Looking back, what impact has that project had on how people understand the city’s geography and inequity? 

“Folded Map” reminded Chicago that segregation isn’t abstract data; it’s us. We are the data. These maps and statistics describe our lives: what we’ve been taught, what we’ve feared, where we’ve been told not to go. 

It offered a personalized way to visualize segregation beyond policy and voting. People could see themselves in the project and recognize how all of us — Black, brown, and white — have been shaped by these histories. It gave the city another way to move the conversation forward by centering the personal truths we carry. 

Your projects blend storytelling, activism, and place. What guides your process when deciding how to turn community issues into public art? 

I grew up in Chicago’s creative community; Columbia in the ’90s was a hub where even people not enrolled came to hang out. That taught us that everything is art. 

Community development, neighborhood stories, the homes people live in—these are public art. My work helps people see the beauty, craft, and value in these everyday elements. 

If we only look at community development in static ways, we miss the stories and the people.

Using “unBlocked Englewood” to show that public art dollars can help repair homes has been transformative. Everything is art to a creative, and I enjoy proving that. 

The MacArthur grant offers the rare gift of stability. What kinds of ideas or projects are you now free to explore that weren’t possible before? 

The fellowship gives me the freedom to deepen and expand my work. For example, I’m researching how to build a detailed diorama of my neighborhood, reimagining what Englewood might’ve looked like without predatory practices. 

I’m also thinking about transforming my own home into a permanent exhibition space, and I now have the capacity to partner with public institutions and schools that couldn’t previously host my work. 

And honestly, I finally have time to be a nerdy artist. I have so many books I’ve wanted to read. 

You’ve mentioned wanting to translate your participatory work into exhibition spaces. What excites you most about that transition? 

I’m thrilled to be planning my first solo exhibition with the Museum of Contemporary Photography (MoCP) at Columbia College Chicago for 2027 — especially having it at my alma mater right after receiving the MacArthur recognition. 

The exhibition opens possibilities to experiment with new elements of my practice and create engagements that weren’t previously feasible. It’s a space to bring together the research, mapping, storytelling, and neighborhood reimaginings that ground my work. 

How did your time at Columbia College Chicago shape your artistic journey? 

Columbia was foundational — truly central to everything I do today. 

I first connected with Columbia through its high school summer program, where I took introductory photography courses. By the time I arrived as a freshman, I was comfortable, confident, and already ahead in my photo classes. 

Columbia also gave me my life-changing internship at “The Chicago Reporter.” The journalism faculty asked about my passions — race, Chicago, investigative work — and suggested the internship. That experience taught me to use data, Freedom of Information Act requests, and maps to visualize the city’s inequities. That skillset is the backbone of my practice today. 

Classes, time in the darkroom, and mentors like Sheila Baldwin all shaped my creative foundation and my understanding of narrative, representation, and community. 

Columbia students often explore how art intersects with community and equity. What advice would you give to emerging artists who want to make social impact part of their work? 

Chicago is the best training ground for creatives. You can see the impact of your creative interests in ways that aren’t always possible in bigger cities. Our relationship with municipal systems, neighborhoods, and history helps artists understand how their work intersects with community development. 

If you want to build your chops, Chicago is where you can truly learn the impact your creative skills. 

Chicago has such a deep creative ecosystem—from Englewood to the South Loop. How has the city itself shaped your artistic voice? 

This city taught me everything—engagement, community, creativity, and narrative. Chicago is not a “club” city; it’s a sit-down-and-talk city, a festival city, a neighborhood city. 

Studying journalism at Columbia helped me understand how my neighborhood and others like it were being misrepresented in the media. That realization fueled my commitment to narrative shift, challenging how Chicago’s Black neighborhoods are covered and perceived. 

Chicago’s history, creativity, and people made me the artist I am. 

Looking ahead, what’s next for you and for “unBlocked Englewood”? How can Chicagoans — or creative students — get involved or support that vision? 

“unBlocked Englewood” is a massive, evolving project. We just received $2 million from Chicago Community Trust to support the next three years, and by the end of it, this block will be transformed. 

Eighteen of the 22 homes have already received repairs, about half the block now has public art, and residents have acquired six vacant lots—with plans for more. The project highlights issues like aging in place and the racial wealth gap while also creating pride and visibility for the neighborhood. 

What’s next is continuing that work and preparing for my MoCP solo exhibition in 2027. I’m excited for new collaborations, school partnerships, and opportunities to bring people into the neighborhood to learn, engage, and see the arts and culture happening in Englewood. 

Chicagoans and students can support simply by showing up with openness; being willing to learn, listen, and engage with neighborhoods they’ve been told not to visit. That willingness alone helps shift narratives. 
 
Learn more about Tonika Lewis Johnson’s work: 

Folded Map Project 
Inequity for Sale 
unBlocked Englewood 
 
Note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

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