Our History

People’s Center for Cultural & Contemporary Arts (PCCCArts) began with a chance conversation at a downtown Chicago bus stop in May 2019.

Daniel Chávez, musician and music education graduate newly arrived from traveling the world performing on cruise ships, met Kat, an arts educator and former teacher, principal, dance studio owner, photographer, and supply chain professional who had also recently moved to Chicago. They discovered a shared love of salsa music, culture, and arts education while riding the bus from Union Station—and, by coincidence, both got off in Pilsen.

That conversation became the beginning of a shared vision: an arts organization that makes culturally rooted, high-quality creative learning accessible to young people and communities across Chicago. On February 21, 2020, Daniel and Kat officially founded PCCCArts alongside founding board members Maya Bauer and Gabriel Lopez.

Only weeks later, the COVID-19 pandemic reshaped how people learned and connected. PCCCArts responded by supporting teachers and students with virtual arts learning, online masterclasses, and breakout-room facilitation. Early programs featured artists and educators working across Afro-Caribbean music, Latin jazz improvisation, Mexican music history, and Indian classical music.

When in-person programming resumed in summer 2021, PCCCArts launched socially distanced outdoor classes in dance, photography, and beginner music for K–8 students. Early partnerships with Dvorak Park, Pilsen Food Pantry, Something Good in Englewood, The Resurrection Project, and Blue Door Neighborhood Center helped establish the organization’s community-centered approach. PCCCArts soon expanded into after-school programming through America SCORES Chicago, Pilsen Community Academy, Orozco Academy, Hamline Elementary, and other Chicago schools and community spaces.

Today, PCCCArts serves more than 2,000 students annually through in-school residencies, after-school classes, workshops, performances, and masterclasses in music, dance, visual arts, digital media, and STEAM. While we do not yet have a permanent home, that flexibility allows us to bring programs directly to schools, parks, and community spaces throughout Chicago.

We also create opportunities for the public to gather, learn, and celebrate through events such as El Futuro, neighborhood jam sessions, public art showcases, and the Emerging Music Showcase at the Chicago International Salsa Congress. What began with a bus ride has grown into a citywide effort to close gaps in arts access, uplift student voice, and ensure that culture and creativity remain within reach for every community.