The Jane Addams Hull-House Museum will partner with the Chicago Park District’s Young Cultural Stewards to present this one-day workshop, Build Your Dream Garden. Visitors will be guided through this workshop by experienced teaching artists Bee Rodriguez and Izzy Jackson to explore themes of mending and building with the goal of deepening community connections. After a tour of the exhibition, participants will work with Bee and Izzy to explore the ways gardens can help our environment and strengthen our communities. They’ll explore the Hull-House courtyard to identify plants and insects and then work collaboratively on an artistic rendition of their dream gardens. Come join us for an afternoon of community-building and art making!  

This program is open to all ages but we especially invite youth ages 5-15 and their friends and families. Light refreshments will be provided and participants will receive a hard copy of the activity guide designed by youth and educators from Young Cultural Stewards. This collection of group activity plans can be found in PDF form HERE. Participants will receive a hard copy to take home. 

This program is presented alongside Perennial City: Experiments in Urban Gardening and aims to highlight the people and organizations in the city who are working to redefine land access and provide space for community growth. 

Izzy J

Izzy Jackson is an interdisciplinary artists from Chicago, IL who focuses on uplifting sustainable choices through every step of the creation process. Whether it be via her photography, styling or textile designs under Izzy’s Looks, Izzy highlights the world’s growing climate crisis and reimagines innovative ways to create art in relation respect to the Earth.

Bee Rodriguez

Bee Rodriguez is a curious being of Campesino descent who was born Chicago and whose roots connect them to the semi-desert lands of Northern Mexico. In the past few years, they have taught and learned about agriculture and permaculture alongside youth and youth adults from the South Side of so-called Chicago. Bee is a land steward, seed keeper, and life-long learner who explores various creative media like photography, creative writing, and green space.