The Maxwell Street Market, with its cacophony of voices haggling in different tongues, might have been Chicago’s best shot at the American Dream. This was where newcomers and outsiders came to get by in the big city and maybe leave their mark on it too. Maxwell’s story - its origins with turn-of-the-century immigrant pushcart vendors, its post-war innovations in the electric blues, and the neighborhood’s later neglect and demolition in the name of “urban renewal” - offers us themes that are relevant today.

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In Poor Man’s Paradise, “outsider” artists pay tribute to this outsider economy. Michael Bryant, Bill Douglas, Andrew Hall, David Holt, R.J. Juguilon, Fernando Ramirez, Sereno Wilson, Ricky Willis, and George Zuniga share paintings, drawings, and sculptures. The artwork is exhibited alongside over 50 artifacts spanning the history of the Market, generously loaned by the Maxwell Street Foundation. Shop signs, rusty bird cages, and bespoke musical instruments tell their own stories and act as portals to different chapters in Maxwell’s history.

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Photo: "At Jim's Original" by RJ Juguilon. 8X10 Marker on Paper. 2025.