One of my favorite pieces I have created is my collage collection titled Everything But Cookies. This work is deeply rooted in ancestry, memory, and preservation. I created this collection to honor my ancestors and to remind both myself and future generations of how we have survived and continue to survive. It is meant to exist not just as art, but as part of an ancestral altar or archive that can be passed down, holding both history and guidance. The inspiration for this collection came from reflecting on generational trauma and healing, especially within the context of Black history. Initially, I was focused on the destructive aspects of Christianity and how it has impacted Black people mentally and spiritually. As I explored this, I began to see how deeply intertwined our trauma and healing are. I started recognizing patterns between historical systems of oppression and the ways those systems still exist today, just in evolved forms. At the same time, I also saw something else. Alongside oppression, I saw continuity in resistance, joy, and survival. I thought about how we have always found ways to love each other, to create families, to express ourselves, and to resist being erased. We have always told our stories through music, poetry, and movement. We have danced, laughed, created, and loved despite being dehumanized. That realization shifted the direction of my work. Instead of focusing only on trauma, I wanted to highlight the practices and expressions that have sustained us across generations. The materials I used became just as important as the concept itself. I created the paper for each collage by hand using fabric from my late great grandmother’s curtains. I broke the textile down into pulp and reformed it into paper, transforming something tied to my family’s domestic history into the physical foundation of the work. This process allowed the material itself to hold memory. The fibers of that fabric remain present in each piece, turning the collages into both personal and collective archives. Working with these materials made the process feel intimate and intentional. It was not just about creating images, but about embedding lineage into the work. Each collage became a space where personal history, ancestral memory, and cultural resilience could exist together. The act of making the work felt like a form of connection, both to my family and to a larger history that continues to shape us. This piece is meaningful to me because it reflects my purpose as an artist. My work is centered around healing, and I see art as a way to preserve what might otherwise be forgotten. Everything But Cookies is about making sure we do not lose sight of the strength, creativity, and love that have carried us through generations. It is also about ensuring that future generations can look back and recognize those same qualities within themselves. Creating this collection changed how I understand art. It showed me that art can function as an archive, a form of resistance, and a tool for healing all at once. It does not have to exist only in galleries. It can live in materials, in memory, and in the stories we choose to carry forward. This work represents not only where I come from, but also what I hope to leave behind.

As a senior at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago studying Fiber Arts, Psychology, and Art Therapy, my goal is to use my degree to create spaces where art can support healing and empowerment in my community. Growing up in Chicago, I witnessed how many people—especially young people and women—often lack access to creative resources and mental health support. Through my education and artistic practice, I want to help bridge that gap by using art as a tool for emotional expression, cultural connection, and personal healing. My work as an artist explores the relationship between creativity, spirituality, and mental health. I am particularly interested in the ways fiber arts and textile practices have historically served as healing traditions within communities of women. Sewing, weaving, and other forms of handwork have long been used not only to create functional objects, but also to tell stories, preserve cultural knowledge, and process emotional experiences. Through my studies, I am learning how these artistic traditions can be combined with psychological understanding to support well-being and self-reflection. After completing my degree, I plan to develop community-based art programs that provide accessible creative spaces for people who may not otherwise have the opportunity to engage with the arts. I want to organize workshops focused on textile arts, journaling, and other hands-on creative practices that encourage participants to explore their identities and experiences through making. These programs would be designed especially for young people and women in urban communities, where stress, trauma, and systemic inequality often make it difficult for individuals to prioritize mental and emotional health. I have already seen the positive impact of this kind of work through my experience as a summer intern for Evolving Diva Inc., where I led creative sessions for girls ages seven to seventeen. During these workshops, we explored topics such as entrepreneurship, self-care, and creative expression through painting and fashion design. Watching the girls become more confident in sharing their ideas and expressing themselves showed me how powerful art can be as a tool for empowerment. It reinforced my belief that creative spaces can help young people feel seen, valued, and capable of shaping their futures. In addition to teaching workshops, I hope to build creative environments that encourage reflection and community connection. My long-term goal is to develop programs and spaces where art, healing practices, and cultural traditions can coexist. I want to help people reconnect with forms of creativity that have historically supported resilience and collective care within marginalized communities. Ultimately, I believe art has the power to help people better understand themselves and their experiences. By using my degree to combine artistic practice with psychological insight, I hope to create opportunities for individuals in my community to process their emotions, tell their stories, and build stronger connections with themselves and others. Through these efforts, I aim to contribute to a future where creativity is recognized not only as a form of expression, but also as a pathway toward healing and empowerment.

Hi, I am Toni Ivory and I am the child of a single mom and entrepreneur. My mother of 13 was a single mom until she gave birth to her fifth child. I grew up with just my mom, my sister, and my two brothers until my mom met my stepdad. Me and my mom are close and talk every day because we went through so much together. I learned how to be independent and a strong woman from watching my mother take care of me and my siblings by her self. She put me, my siblings, and herself over her relationship in order to make sure we were raised in a healthy and safe home. My mom taught us how to take care of ourselves and take care of each other. I even learned how to be a great mother from helping my mom with my eight younger siblings. My mothers independence and entrepreneurship taught me to be the same way. I think my moms influence on me has helped me though working two full time jobs as a full time student to be able to afford school and will also help me while pursuing my career to become a successful artist. I am now pursuing a career as a visual artist and creator at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. I am on my way to receiving a BFA in Studio with an emphasis in Painting & Drawing and Architecture. I have experimented with art installations, 3d modeling, sculpture, paintings, drawings, video production, and more but have always had a love for drawings and paintings especially. Becoming an artist gives me the opportunity to be independent and be myself by doing what I love as my career. I see myself being able to shed light on many world problems and tackle problems within society through my work. Winning this scholarship would help me be able to afford materials such as paint, fabric, paper, drawing tools, etc, to make art that I love without limitations or being held back by a budget or financial issues. This scholarship would also help me pay for the remaining balance of my tuition to be able to continue taking classes during future semesters and school years.

At the age of 15 I started a business, The Dope Daughters, with my older sister who was 17 at the time. Our business consisted of painting and custom apparel. We were already helping our mom with her business by doing these things and decided to branch off on our own and do things that were more personal to us. We are now rebranding our business to Visual Art Work, mainly paintings, drawings, and sewings. I am pursuing a career at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago to perfect my craft and learns new ways to create art. I am studying Fine Arts in Studio with an emphasis in Painting and Drawing, as well as Architecture. While studying at SAIC, I have dabbled in Video, Painting, Soft Sculpture, 3D Printing, Digital Art, and more. While attending and interdisciplinary school I plan to study as many forms of art as I can and express myself in as many ways as possible.

My name is Toni Ivory and I am hoping to expand my work and experience new things when it comes to art. I started pursuing my career and studying at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago at the age of 16. I am pursuing a career in Fine Arts in Studio with an Emphasis in Painting and Drawing & Architecture. I plan to use this experience to learn from my peers and express myself in different ways. I hope to learn new things and become successful doing what makes me happy. I am passionate about self expression and use art as a way to express myself. I also use poetry as an outlet for me to express who I am and how I feel. I have used acrylic, chalk pastel, oil paint, and charcoal as mediums for my art work. As a black teen living in Chicago there are many hardships that I and my peers go through and having an outlet allows me to be myself without stereotypes and statistics holding me back. I was homeschooled and graduated high school at 15 years old. I have always gone above and beyond with my career and insuring that my future is set in stone.

After the death of George Floyd at the hands of police officers, I protested to protect my community as well as black people across America. I walked for hours with my mom, cousin, and many others involved in the Black Lives Matter Movement.