Little Black Pearl Art & Design Center

CTL-E-5230 · Institution · cultural-center · 1994–present

VERIFIED evidence grade of this record

Little Black Pearl Art & Design Center is a Chicago arts and community institution in Bronzeville, founded in 1994 by Monica Haslip. Haslip began it as an after-school program run from her South Side home, employing two artists to teach painting, mosaic, and design to children from Hyde Park, Oakland, Kenwood, Woodlawn, and Bronzeville. With Empowerment Zone funding from 2000, the organization expanded, and in 2004 it moved into a 40,000-square-foot facility in Bronzeville. In 2011 Haslip opened Options Laboratory School, a charter school with an arts, science, technology, engineering, math, and business curriculum for at-risk youth; under a 2013 Chicago Public Schools contract it became the Little Black Pearl Art & Design Academy. The center hosted the Soulful Chicago Black History Book Fair on February 15, 2026.

The record

Also known as: Little Black Pearl, Little Black Pearl Workshop

Notes

STAGED 2026-10-15 (packet branch-two). Enters the Kirkland branch as the Feb 15, 2026 fair venue; an institution of the first rank in its own right.

Relationships

Monica Haslip — founded by
Little Black Pearl founded by Monica Haslip in 1994 (The HistoryMakers; Obama White House archives). OPTIONAL edge — live only if the founder merges the optional Haslip record.

Sources

The HistoryMakers — Monica Haslip biography (founding 1994; 2004 facility; 2011 school; 2013 CPS contract) (primary source)
Obama White House archives — Monica Haslip, Champion of Change (founded 1994; Options Laboratory School 2011) (primary source)
HappeningNext — Soulful Chicago Black History Book Fair at Little Black Pearl, Feb 15, 2026

Record CTL-E-5230 · CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph · evidence grade: VERIFIED · 3 sources (2 primary) · 1 mapped relationship · CTL research: PPL-001.
Directory: all entity records · the knowledge graph

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Cite as: CultureTechLens, “Little Black Pearl Art & Design Center (CTL-E-5230),” CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph, October 2026. https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-e-5230/

Chicago: CultureTechLens. “Little Black Pearl Art & Design Center (CTL-E-5230).” CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph. Chicago, IL: CultureTechLens, 2026. https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-e-5230/
APA: CultureTechLens. (2026). Little Black Pearl Art & Design Center (CTL-E-5230) [Entity record]. CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph. https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-e-5230/
MLA: CultureTechLens. “Little Black Pearl Art & Design Center (CTL-E-5230).” CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph, 2026, https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-e-5230/

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