about
ART WORKS Projects (AWP) is a Chicago and The Hague based visual arts non-profit dedicated to advancing social justice and human rights through documentary film and photography. Founded in 2006, AWP’s projects have been presented on five continents, in dozens of countries, with hundreds of partners and artists to produce visual advocacy tools which produce action on human rights crises at the grassroots, media, and policy levels.
board of directors
Howard Conant, Jr. is the founder and president of Urban Innovations, LLC, a real estate development and property management company based in Chicago’s River North neighborhood. He is responsible for acquisition and development, financial analysis, and negotiation of major transactions.
Howard has been a long-term supporter and partner of ART WORKS Projects, hosting the organization’s studio at 625 North Kingsbury, a unique non-profit incubator and programming center for free community gatherings, exhibitions, film screenings, and advocacy workshops.
Howard holds a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University and a master’s degree in Architecture from the University of California, Berkeley. In addition to his involvement with AWP, Howard is active on the boards of Chicago Public Media, Restore Justice Illinois, the Writers Theater, and the Chicago Committee of Human Rights Watch. He and his wife, Anne, are long-time patrons and supporters of social justice and democracy-building movements, organizations, and initiatives.
Iván is an Associate Director at the Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy at the University of Illinois at Chicago which supports engaged research that aims to increase society’s understanding of the root causes of racial and ethnic inequality and create research-based policy solutions and collective action. Trained as an anthropologist and architect, his research focuses on how social movements use creative art practices to establish solidarities beyond the state. Dr. Arenas is a practicing artist and has curated three yearlong exhibits at UIC that have mobilized and extended his research on the intersection between protest practices, social transformation, and aesthetics. Beyond the University, he is active as a member of Chicago Torture Justice Memorials, Chicago United for Equity, the Pilsen Housing Cooperative, and the Chicago ACT Collective. Dr. Arenas has an undergraduate degree from Columbia College of Columbia University and a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley.
Sherwin is an Associate Professor of African American Studies and History at Northwestern University and serves as the Director of the Center for African American History. He teaches courses on the histories of colonial Latin America, the Early Modern African Diaspora, comparative slavery, and the politics of Afro-Latin America since 1800. As an historian of colonial Afro-Latin America and the Atlantic/Pacific Worlds, Bryant works at the intersections of cultural, legal, social history and political economy, with an emphasis upon Black life in the Kingdoms of New Granada and Quito (what is now modern Colombia and Ecuador). Dr. Bryant’s book, Rivers of Gold, Lives of Bondage: Governing through Slavery in Colonial Quito offers the first serious treatment in English of slavery and slave life in colonial Quito and challenges the narrower conceptualization of slavery as primarily an economic demand. Bryant holds an undergraduate degree from North Carolina Central University and a Ph.D. from The Ohio State University.
Steve is the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Manager, WBEZ Chicago; Founder/Producer of Worldview.
Fergal is the Peace Programs Manager at Rotary International where one of his key responsibilities is to oversee the creation and continued implementation of an overarching strategic plan for the many peacebuilding programs and activities that Rotary offers. Prior to his role at Rotary, Fergal worked at the Rand Corporation in California, the Irish Prime Minister’s Office in Dublin, Ireland as well as the Irish Foreign Ministry. He also has a background in media, having produced a number of radio documentaries focusing on peacebuilding and development projects in Brazil, Malawi, South Sudan, India, Pakistan, and Northern Ireland. He holds a BA in World Religions & Theology and an MPhil in International Peace Studies from Trinity College Dublin, an MA in Comparative Ethnic Conflict Studies from Queens University Belfast, and an MSt in International Relations from the University of Cambridge.
Wendy is a Fellow with People Matter, a South Side grassroots organization working to improve race relations among Asian, Black and Latinx communities through political empowerment. Wendy is also a writer and production coordinator passionate about elevating the voices of those most impacted by crisis to tell their own stories. A native of Chicago, she writes about international migration, diaspora politics and US foreign policy. Wendy has a political science background in the social integration and political participation of migrants. She has applied experience in managing humanitarian evaluation projects that serve refugee populations in North and Sub-Saharan Africa, and designing digital training programs for displaced artists in the Middle East to expand their network beyond the borders that restrict them.
our team
Interim Executive Director
Steve Bynum
Steve Bynum serves as Interim Executive Director of ART WORKS Projects, where he leads the organization’s strategy at the intersection of documentary storytelling, public engagement, and human rights advocacy. A longtime collaborator and former board member, his relationship with ART WORKS Projects spans more than two decades—from early work on DARFUR/DARFUR to sustained collaborations on conflict-related violence and global justice—reflecting a deep commitment to using storytelling to drive awareness and action. He brings over 35 years of experience building platforms, partnerships, and audiences that connect media, policy, and advocacy on a global scale. As Senior Producer of Worldview with Jerome McDonnell at Chicago Public Media, he helped shape a leading global affairs program through reporting, live events, and partnerships with organizations including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Oxfam, and leading universities, and led initiatives such as the Global Activism series and Global Activism Expo, convening advocates, artists, and policymakers around urgent global challenges.
In parallel, his leadership across Chicago’s cultural institutions—including as Board President of Theatre Y, Vice President of Fulcrum Point New Music Project, and collaborator with Facets Film Forum—has supported the development of artist-driven, justice-oriented work across performance, music, and film, reflecting a sustained ability to build cultural and civic infrastructure that advances human rights through storytelling and collaboration. Steve holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame and a master’s degree in Public Policy and Administration from Northwestern University, and is completing a master’s degree in Eastern Orthodox Theology.
E-mail: steve@artworksprojects.org
Founder, Interim Director of Programming and Development
Leslie Thomas
Leslie Thomas serves as Interim Director of Programming and Development at ART WORKS Projects, where she leads the design and implementation of documentary-based advocacy campaigns addressing urgent human rights issues. As the organization’s founder and co-founder of MIRA Studios, Leslie brings decades of experience advancing global awareness around genocide, human trafficking, ethnic cleansing, gender apartheid, and conflict-related sexual violence. Her work has shaped major initiatives including DARFUR/DARFUR, Congo/Women, and Covering CRSV, as well as the documentary films The Prosecutors and Letter to My Child. An Emmy Award–winning art director, Leslie is currently co-directing the feature documentary Syria Justice, developed from AWP’s Children of Syria exhibition. She also serves as producer of The Sharp Edge of Peace, directed by Roya Sadat and launched with Meryl Streep during the United Nations General Assembly, contributing to global policy engagement on women’s rights in Afghanistan.
Throughout her career, Leslie has prioritized ethical, participatory storytelling practices grounded in consent and collaboration, and continues to expand this work as AWP enters its second decade. She holds a master’s degree from Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation and a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. A licensed architect, she is the founder of LARC Architecture and Design and serves on the board of Congo Kids Initiative.
Email: lthomas@artworksprojects.org
our artists
ART WORKS Projects has collaborated with hundreds of artists to advance social justice through visual storytelling, grassroots activism, and advocacy.
our partners
ART WORKS Projects has collaborated with scores of generous partners around the globe:
we are proud members of:
