We invited journalist Elise Schimke from Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism to interview alumas Joselyn Corona and Lizbeth Rangel about life after Marwen.
Joselyn Corona and Lizbeth Rangel attend the same college, stage photoshoots of each other in their free time, and stay connected to their Marwen family. They’re best friends.
Due to the distance between their homes (Lizbeth lives in West Humboldt Park and Joselyn is a resident of Belmont Cragin), the two might have never met had it not been for their shared passion for art and Marwen’s free after-school programs.
“There’s so many students in the art classes at CPS [Chicago Public Schools],” said Lizbeth. “Here, it’s easier for them to get to know everyone.”
Now college freshman at Harold Washington College, Joselyn and Lizbeth met as sophomores from different high schools (Hyman Rickover Naval Academy and Lane Tech, respectively) searching for a safe, supportive place to practice art. Unlike the at-capacity, class sizes of 40 students that the teens were used to, the graffiti class in which they first connected at Marwen had an enrollment of closer to 15 students -- small enough for Lizbeth to notice Joselyn’s expertly-applied eyeshadow and for Joselyn to take a stab at coaxing a shy Lizbeth into conversation.
However, it was their work on the “Face of Marwen” commissioned project -- a 2017 initiative to create a billboard for Marwen’s building facade -- that cemented their friendship.
In order to complete the project, Lizbeth, Joselyn, and a small group of their fellow student artists learned how to work together to represent one cohesive narrative of Marwen.
“We visited Columbia [College Chicago] so we could get to see what professional work looks like, and then we went to Depaul,” said Joselyn. “It really helped us connect everything together -- we needed something from Chicago in order to make our own, in order for us to understand what we were really working on.”
Lizbeth said that the billboard reminds her daily of her connection to Marwen and its larger link to the rest of Chicago.
“Because I take the Brown Line, I get to see it,” said Lizbeth. “I like seeing people's reactions when they see it.”
Even though both women are high school graduates and now considered Marwen alumni, they said that they retain the community and support of Marwen staff and students.
“I've had projects for my [college] photo class where I really needed help and I would come to Lisa [Lindvay, teaching artist and staff at Marwen],” said Lizbeth.
“One project was to photograph strangers, but I didn't want to just go up to them; I wanted it to mean something. And so I asked her if I could photograph students while they were working. That same day, it was Marwen Lab [an immersion program for high school students to work on personal art projects]. I was also able to mentor one of the girls that I had class with while I was a Marwen student,” said Lizbeth.
“Even after I graduated, I could come back and still get help with my financial aid or still have someone look at my essay. Everything is still there for us,” said Joselyn.
Crystal Bahena, another Marwen alumna, met with Joselyn and Lizbeth during one of the friends’ recent visits back. Crystal, too, has been drawn back to Marwen: she joined the organization as a communications intern in March.
“It's interesting to see people that I graduated high school with who are now back at Marwen as studio facilitators and doing other projects with Marwen,” Crystal said. “It’s a place that you would want to go back to work because you love the community.”
“They always make you feel really at home here,” added Joselyn. “It's a really good place to be.”