Speaker Spotlight

Tonika Lewis Johnson is a photographer, visual artist, and a proud resident of Englewood on the South Side of Chicago. Her artistic repertoire often explores urban segregation and documents the nuance and richness of the black community. Her Englewood-based photography projects, From the INside and Everyday Rituals, were exhibited at Rootwork Gallery in Pilsen, the Chicago Cultural Center, the Harold Washington Library Center, and at Loyola University's Museum of Art (LUMA). Her "Folded Map" project was exhibited at LUMA as well. 

Her career as a trained photojournalist and teaching artist has earned her citywide recognition in recent years. She was featured in Chicago Magazine as a 2017 Chicagoan of the Year for her photography of Englewood's everyday beauty, countering its pervasive media coverage of poverty and crime. In 2019, she was named one of Field Foundation’s Leaders for a New Chicago and most recently, she was appointed as a member of the Cultural Advisory Council of the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events by the Chicago City Council.

Tonika's passion for her community extends beyond her art. In 2010, she co-founded the Resident Association of Greater Englewood (R.A.G.E), whose mission is to “mobilize people and resources to force positive change in Englewood through solution-based approaches." 

Tonika earned her BA in Print Journalism & Photography from Columbia College Chicago and her MBA from National-Louis University.