Designing a Better Chicago, a prominent citywide initiative organized and supported by NeoCon, The Mart, the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, and the Design Museum of Chicago, is proud to announce its 2026 grant recipients. This year’s cohort celebrates three trailblazing organizations—Project Osmosis (pictured in the top row, left), Englewood Arts Collective (pictured in the bottom row), and Bubbly Dynamics (pictured in the top row, right)—chosen for their community-centered work across youth empowerment, public space transformation, and sustainable urban development.

Since 2020, in collaboration with Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events  (DCASE), the program has recognized and funded grassroots projects using art and design to address civic challenges across Chicago's 77 neighborhoods. Honoring the city’s rich design legacy, Designing a Better Chicago champions design’s vital role in serving the public good—from enhancing shared spaces and fostering belonging to advancing more vibrant, sustainable neighborhoods. The notable 2026 honorees each embody these values through innovative, community-centered work shaping a more inclusive and environmentally conscious future.

“Design is one of the most powerful tools for strengthening communities,” says Olivia Kosciusko Tritschler, Development Manager at Design Museum of Chicago. “This year’s grantees are creating lasting impact and models for collaboration, inclusivity, and stewardship. We’re proud to uplift their work and invest in ideas that will continue defining and designing a better Chicago.”

2026 Award Recipients

NeoCon Design Impact Award: Project Osmosis

Project Osmosis empowers Chicago youth to design solutions to community challenges through immersive design education, mentorship, and applied arts programming that promotes peace, safety, and opportunity in underserved neighborhoods. By equipping young people with creative problem-solving skills and meaningful mentorship, the organization cultivates the next generation of civic leaders and changemakers.

Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Built Environment Award: Englewood Arts Collective

Englewood Arts Collective (EAC), the artist-led creative placemaking arm of Folded Map Project NFP, uses artist-led activations, public art, and creative collaborations to transform underutilized spaces into vibrant, community-rooted hubs of joy, visibility, and economic opportunity, while advancing a stronger sense of belonging and access for all Chicagoans.

Led by EAC, the Arts Village Sculpture Park is a creative placemaking initiative, transforming three vacant lots at 63rd and May Street into a publicly accessible cultural destination in Greater Englewood. Building on EAC's successful Arts Village model, the project will establish a multi-year public home for public art incubation, humanities programming, and artist-led commerce while celebrating local creatives and strengthening the positive identity of the area overall.

“This support is helping us move ideas into action, while proving that ‘good’ design is design that does good,” comments Janell Nelson, Founder of the award-winning graphic design firm JNJ Creative and Co-Founder/Director of Englewood Arts Collective. “It's very encouraging to have institutions recognize the creativity, leadership, and innovation that come from and thrive in neighborhoods like where we grew up."

Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Built Environment Award: Bubbly Dynamics

Bubbly Dynamics, a leader in the sustainable redevelopment of Chicago's industrial landscape, is transforming long-vacant warehouses and factories into vibrant communal business ecosystems. With support from Designing a Better Chicago, the organization will complete its Visualization + Energy Recovery and Distribution System (VERDs) project at The Plant, transforming invisible waste heat into a tracked and managed energy resource. The project advances environmental innovation while strengthening the resilience and sustainability of this collaborative business community.

Special Recognition

Additional special recognition was extended to the Collective Learning Lab, Anthony Bartley, Urban Rivers, Fresh Supply, Territory, Duo Development, and the Chicago Graphic Design Club (CGDC) projects that further reflect Chicago's civic-minded design leadership.

Each of the honorees was selected by a multidisciplinary advisory committee representing design, arts, architecture, planning, and civic leadership. Committee members include Jessica Davis, Global Garden Refugee Training Farm; Bridgette Gimpert, Gilbane Building Company; Sarah Haque, Recon Analytics; Meg Leary, Arts First; Vasia Rigou, NewCity; Lydia Ross, Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events; Ben Schulman, a5 Branding & Digital; Eva Silverman, Chicago Architecture Biennial; and Eugene Varnado II, YoojDesign.