ILA Creative Studio

Our programming is free. On purpose. 🖤

Because we believe Black artists deserve access to resources, community, and creative support without the added stress of affordability. Black artists deserve to focus on their craft. Not on how they are going to afford the next opportunity.

Creating free access takes real investment. BALA is how our community shows up to make it happen every single year.

Come be part of the night. June 17th at Little Black Pearl. Link in bio. 🖤

Meet our 2026 Black Art Love Pioneer honoree. 🖤

Robert Earl Paige is a living legend.

Growing up on Chicago’s South Side and trained at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Robert has spent his life creating art that belongs to the people. As a founding member of the AfriCOBRA collective he helped shape one of the most important movements in Black American art history, bringing bold color, West African design, and unapologetic representations of Black life and power to the forefront.

His iconic Dakkabar fabrics collection brought Black culture directly into people’s homes through Sears department stores in the 1970’s. Because Robert has always believed that beauty should not be confined to museums and galleries. It should be accessible to everyone, everywhere.

After decades of groundbreaking work he turned his focus to youth art education. Investing in the next generation the same way the art world never invested in him.

This is legacy. This is love. This is Robert Earl Paige.

We are deeply honored to celebrate him at BALA 2026 🖤

We are deeply grateful to The Chicago Community Trust, The Chicago Bulls, The Chicago Blackhawks, and Agency EA for their continued investment in Chicago’s Black creative community for the third consecutive year. 🖤

Interested in becoming a sponsor? Reach out to us at [email protected] to learn more about partnership opportunities.