In response to the recent decision of the Department of Planning and Development (DPD) to grant five million dollars in public funding to the Equity Arts project
No Nation is calling the art community to take action as this directly puts our artist-run space at imminent risk of forced displacement.
Since the beginning of their project, Equity Arts has never been inclusive of what No Nation does, therefore working under their vision is completely non-viable. This organization has tried to erase No Nation and TriTrangle from the Lubinski building history for years with the clear intention to evict us from our spaces. Recently as last week, they spoke with the owner and asked that he evict every person that lives in the building before they buy it.
No Nation and TriTriangle have been operating out of the Lubinski building in Wicker Park for thirteen and ten years respectively, and are part of the lifeblood of this neighborhood’s artist community, serving countless university students, local artists, and creatives from throughout Chicago and around the world.
In order to protect our home, we are calling for legally binding protection to be written into the Equity Arts plan and DPD grant requirements that ensure No Nation and TriTriangle will be allowed to stay in our spaces, remain autonomous, independent, and secure a rent freeze that would allow the cost of our operation to remain viable. We are insisting that DPD and the City of Chicago do this, since they will be enabling Equity Arts’ plans and doing so with city funding.
Given the nature of Equity Arts stated goals, the fact that we have to demand protection from erasure and eviction at all should speak volumes of the integrity of their project. Until these requirements are met, we will remain in opposition to Equity Arts, who continue to pose a clear and present threat of displacement and gentrification to our spaces and livelihoods.