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By Francia Garcia Hernandez
Out of Chicago’s Westside was born a creative mind who is changing narratives one project at a time. Jay Simon is a visual artist, marketing expert and creative entrepreneur from North Lawndale who uses his talents for good.
“A lot of my work is focused on changing narratives, stigmas and biases,” he said.
His community has shaped his professional creative journey as much as he is reshaping the narratives about it.
Through his series of coloring books “Elvin Explores North Lawndale,” Jay tells the story of North Lawndale through Elvin Baca The Elephant. Elvin is a grey elephant dressed in black pants, a branded t-shirt, a hat and “Concord” Jordan sneakers. His fashion choices are intentional, representing the style and culture of many of the people who call this neighborhood home.
Elvin visits numerous historical sites and meaningful community areas, such as Stone Temple Baptist Church, the Douglass branch of the Chicago Public Library, the Martin Luther King Exhibit Center by the University of Illinois Chicago, and the Firehouse Community Arts Center of Chicago. The books also include historical facts, addresses, and games for readers to learn more about the neighborhood and each of these sites.
“The book becomes a coloring book, but it’s also a history book. But then, it is transformed into a tourism guide,” Jay said, adding he hopes the book will invite other Chicagoans to visit the neighborhood and change any preconceived notions they may have about it.
The idea for the book came after the local nonprofit Open Books asked Jay to collaborate on a project to foster literacy in the community. With his creative partner and co-founder of the creative company Jones Corner Store, they designed a character that could uplift the rich history, culture and people of the neighborhood while making reading appealing and fun.
“I want people to see the beauty that exists,” Jay said.
More than a book series, it is a transformative tool rooted in community.
Upon its launch, Jay hosted a series of events, organizing neighborhood tours and events at the sites featured in the book.
In the second volume, Elvin drives around the neighborhood, visiting local businesses, historic sites and the portion of the historic Route 66 that crosses through North Lawndale on Ogden Avenue.
Every element in the book is carefully designed to educate readers in multiple dimensions. For the third volume, Jay envisions Elvin biking as a way to promote exercise and healthy habits. To go beyond the pages, he hopes to partner with local organizations to organize biking tours.
“Outside of a cool coloring book, how do we make an impact?” Jay said. “That's why we did the activation of each site, bringing people here, patronizing the business, engaging the community from different age groups and different places.”
Eventually, he hopes to see Elvin exploring all 77 Chicago communities. But it all starts on the Westside, what he calls “the forgotten stepchild,” and the place he and his four children and wife call home.
In 2024, Jay was selected as a resident artist for the School of the Art Institute at Homan Square. In his residency, he is creating an architectural photo book documenting the beautiful structures on Chicago’s Westside.
The book includes photographs of homes and buildings in Westside communities and the stories of the people who live there. Through its pages, it illustrates and pays homage to the Black people who arrived on the Westside during the Great Migration.
His family’s history inspired Jay to find and tell more stories about Westside homeowners. His mother inherited the house where she lives from her father. Jay’s grandfather purchased homes for each of his three kids on the Westside of Chicago, passing down wealth across generations.
Jay’s passion for architecture and beauty was indirectly inspired by his father. Originally from Mississippi, his father arrived in Chicago at age 16 and established himself on the Westside. Leaving behind a life in the cotton fields and having completed less than an eighth-grade education, his father learned the trade of plastering. Growing up, Jay would often accompany him as he plastered walls in beautiful homes in Chicago and neighboring Oak Park.
“The spirit of entrepreneurship that he had came over me,” he said. “If it wasn't for him, exposing me to beautiful homes, I wouldn't be photographing our buildings and talking about architecture.”
And just like his father, Jay has faced his share of challenges as a creative entrepreneur.
“When you're an entrepreneur, a creative entrepreneur, the road can be very lonely,” he said. Before joining CLF, he contemplated leaving Chicago for a city where he could find a community of artists to work with. As an entrepreneur, he has also faced financial challenges. Yet, “living in his purpose” keeps him going.
“'It’s the work that I'm doing, the seeds that I'm sowing, the people that I'm impacting that brings fulfillment,” he said. “And because I know that, the money just comes automatically, without me having to be so pressed for it.”
Sowing seeds in others is fundamental to Jay. His first introduction to photography was by volunteering with a friend - now, a professional video producer - in his teen years. His friend eventually gifted him a camera, which in time led to Jay running his own photography business and getting a bachelor’s degree in Marketing from Columbia College Chicago.
Now, Jay is sowing seeds in other youth who are also interested in photography.
Last summer, Jay partnered with North Lawndale’s Beelove Cafe and the Lincoln Park Zoo to teach a nature photography storytelling class. In the class, a young participant demonstrated his interest in photography, and months later, Jay invited him to be an apprentice for his photography business.
“If someone hadn’t done that for me, I wouldn't be in the position that I'm in now,” Jay said. “And I always think ‘Man, me giving him this time, that could potentially save his life.’”
In his childhood and teenage years, Jay was exposed to different perspectives. The youngest of eight siblings, he was looked after by his older brothers while he enjoyed time playing basketball, riding his bike around the neighborhood and spending time with friends. Twice a month, the father of one of his friends organized gatherings for kids to meet professionals from different careers - doctors, financial advisors, accountants, attorneys, to name a few.
“That really allowed us to think differently,” Jay said. “You know it. It taught us to have other options versus just wandering around in the streets and getting in trouble.”
Following his experiences and passions, Jay invites people to “change their lens” to be part of the change they want to see.
“Someone else may say ‘Oh look, it's dirty outside,’” he said. “And I may say ‘You know what, it is. But let me round up some people who care about the neighborhood just as much as I do and let’s do a cleanup day and make that cool.’”
“And, because I change my lens on what I see, I don’t accept the fact that it is dirty and I change that.”
It takes a unique creative talent to weave culture, history, art and community activation into one package, but that's just what North Lawndale native Jay Simon has set out to accomplish.
His work is changing narratives about the Westside one image at a time.