Published in collaboration with Black Midwest Initiative, University of Illinois Chicago

City: Dayton, OH

Release Date: October 18, 2024

Pages: 79 p.

Dimensions: 11 × 8.5 in

Cover: Paperback

Binding: Perfect-bound

Color: Full color

Edition Size: 200

Created by Lungs Project exclusively for the 3rd Biennial Black Midwest Symposium held in Dayton, OH (October 18-19, 2024), this limited edition publication celebrates the inaugural fellowship cohort of the Black Midwest Initiative while providing critical context for understanding the region’s longstanding cultural history. The publication features the work of artists who earned their fellowships during Summer 2023 and presents new creative expressions that emerge from and respond to the experiences of Black Midwesterns.

Lungs Project developed accompanying editorials that trace the historical evolution of the Black Midwest, exploring the ways in which currents of migration, industrial development, cultural resistance, and community building have shaped distinctive artistic traditions across the region. The essays lend foundational context for understanding how the artist fellows build upon generations of creative work rooted in Midwest landscapes, communities, and struggles.

Cover image by april l. graham-jackson & Roderick E. Jackson