Two Opportunities to Hear From Tonika Lewis Johnson this October – 10/3 and 10/5
The Fitch Foundation is proud to be collaborating on two opportunities to bring Tonika Lewis Johnson, Chicago-based photographer and social justice artist, and Fitch’s inaugural Talbert Prize recipient, to share her work with a New York audience this October.
Archtober Newburgh Keynote Presentation: Tonika Lewis Johnson
Saturday, October 3, 2026 | 6:00 PM
ADS Warehouse | 105 Ann Street | Newburgh, NY
Introductory Remarks by Amy Freitag, Trustee of the Fitch Foundation
Moderated by Michal Raz-Russo, Director of Programs at the Gordon Parks Foundation
More info and link to RSVP here.
Presented in partnership with Archtober Newburgh, Tonika Lewis Johnson will present the keynote talk to kick off this monthlong celebration of architecture, design, preservation, and community organized to catalyze initiatives shaping the future of cities like Newburgh along the Hudson River that, like Tonika’s Chicago neighborhood, were scarred from urban renewal, redlining, and other inequitable land use policies.
Archtober Newburgh is an annual grassroots effort fueled, in part, by former Fitch Fellows Liz McEnaney and Naomi Hersson-Ringskog, whose Richard L. Blinder Fellowship project, Building Shells: Building Community, focused on activation and community engagement around vacant spaces in Newburgh. Full festival schedule available here.
All are welcome; especially Fitch Fellows past and present!
Art as Instigator: Tonika Lewis Johnson on Community Empowerment and Placemaking in Chicago
Monday, October 5, 2026, 6:30 PM
Beyer Blinder Belle Architects
120 Broadway, 20th fl, New York, NY
Moderated by Monica Davis, Academic Director of the Historic Preservation Graduate Program, Pratt Institute
RSVP here.
Tonika Lewis Johnson will delve into case studies from her artistic practice in Englewood, on the south side of Chicago, that have engaged and empowered the residents to disrupt urban inequity and foster transformational change. Tonika’s work uses photography, maps, and multimedia storytelling to expose the impacts of systemic urban disinvestment and slowly rebuild connections between neighborhoods and communities. In addition to being the first recipient of the Fitch Foundation’s Mary B. Prize for Heritage Justice and a prestigious MacArthur Foundation Fellow Award, Tonika’s work has been recognized by the National Public Housing Museum, the Gordon Parks Foundation, Landmarks Illinois, ARCHITECT Magazine, and the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. This event is co-sponsored by the Fitch Foundation and the Historic Districts Council.
All are welcome; advance registration requested by the venue.