Folding Chicago’s Map

Connecting People, Neighborhoods, and Opportunity

Chicago is a city defined by its neighborhoods, each with its own identity, history, businesses, and sense of community. Yet where we live, work, and invest can profoundly shape how we experience the city and the opportunities available to us.

Join the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce and Loyola University Chicago’s Baumhart Center for Social Enterprise and Responsibility for an inspiring conversation about the power of place and what it means for Chicago’s shared future.

Featuring acclaimed social justice artist, photographer, and 2025 MacArthur Fellow Tonika Lewis Johnson, creator of the nationally recognized Folded Map Project, the evening will invite attendees to see Chicago through a different lens. Tonika Lewis Johnson’s work uses art, storytelling, and community dialogue to illuminate how segregation and disinvestment have shaped Chicago while creating opportunities for people to build connections across neighborhood lines.

Through powerful stories and candid conversation with Chicago entrepreneurs and community leaders whose work is deeply rooted in neighborhoods across the city, we’ll explore how place influences entrepreneurship, leadership, investment, and opportunity. Just as importantly, we’ll examine what can happen when we look beyond the boundaries that too often define Chicago and begin to recognize the connections, creativity, and shared aspirations that exist across them, leaving attendees with new perspectives on the communities that make Chicago distinctive and the role each of us can play in building a more connected, vibrant, and thriving city.