“A center for arts and activism is coming to a closed Garfield Park church, which will also become the headquarters for a program that helps young men vulnerable to violence and poverty.
“Officials broke ground Sunday on the MAAFA Center for Arts and Activism, 4241 W. Washington Blvd., formerly St. Barnabas Episcopal Church. The center will be the home base for the MAAFA Redemption Project, a social justice ministry of New Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church, 4301 W. Washington Blvd., which bought the St. Barnabas building in 2014.
“The $8 million center will also house MAAFA’s outreach services for young women and the Sanfoka School for the Arts, which will offer dance, musical theatre, visual arts and digital arts programs.
“Renovations to the church building will include masonry upgrades, new flooring, a new podcast studio, workout studio, lounge areas and arts educations classrooms, leaders said. Garden spaces will be added outside the building.
“The $8 million project is supported by $2.3 million in grants from the city, $3.8 million in state grants, $800,000 from the Driehaus Foundation and $450,000 from the Pritzker Traubert Foundation. It’s part of the Sankofa Wellness Village, a revitalization effort in Garfield Park that won the $10 million Chicago Prize in 2023. (Liptrot, Block Club Chicago, 9/10/25)
Read the full story at Block Club Chicago
- MAAFA Redemption Project Breaks Ground On $8 Million Community Center For West Siders; The former St. Barnabas Episcopal Church will become the headquarters for the social justice program and house an arts center as part of the Sankofa Wellness Village, Michael Liptrot, Block Club Chicago, 9/10/25
- Sankofa School for the Arts @ The MAAFA Center for Arts & Activism Video