The National Public Housing Museum (NPHM) opens on April 4, 2023, on Chicago’s West Side after nearly 20 years of development. Housed in the last remaining building of the Jane Addams Homes, the museum aims to reshape the narrative around public housing, emphasizing its significance to social justice. Conceived in response to urban renewal plans that threatened to erase communities, its establishment involved collaboration between residents, scholars, and advocates, ultimately securing $16.5 million in funding from various sources. The NPHM seeks to serve as both a history and art museum, making it a unique cultural landmark.
The residents wanted a museum that would call on the power of place and memory to challenge the mainstream narrative about the failure of public housing in the US.
It's now a history museum that meets a world-class art museum, which is what makes it unique.
Deverra Beverly established the museum as a 'site of conscience', a formal designation for places significant to the history of social justice.
The $16.5m project was realised with funding from the city of Chicago, the state of Illinois, and private donors.
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