The Katie Kurcz Memorial Fund

Created in honor and celebration of the life of Snow City Arts Auxiliary Board founding member Katie Kurcz, the Katie Kurcz Memorial Fund enriches the artistic development of Snow City Arts’ Teaching Artists and, ultimately, the children and youth they engage. 

Every year, the Fund’s awards enable our Teaching Artists to intentionally reach outside of the hospital environment and across disciplines to pursue professional development or collaborative projects with other artists or organizations. These pursuits enhance their artistic practice and impact their work in the hospital setting. The Fund also supports the showcasing of these endeavors on a regular basis at SCA’s Gallery Night as well as other visual and print displays and documentation.

Your contribution to the Kurcz Memorial Fund helps carry on Katie’s legacy and ensures that our Teaching Artists can not only expand their own professional skill set, but use what they learn to devise innovative and exciting workshops for thousands of students in Chicagoland hospitals every year. Make a gift today!

If you would like to donate by check or via a donor-advised fund, please put “Katie Kurcz Memorial Fund” in the memo line. Checks should be made out to Snow City Arts and mailed to: Snow City Arts, 1653 W Congress Pkwy, Rush-Bowman 234, Chicago, IL 60612.

Kurcz Fund Awardees

Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, the Kurcz Fund has funded innovative projects devised by the following Snow City Arts Teaching Artists. Click on the button below to read more about the awardees, and explore some of the student artwork that has resulted from their funded projects.

  • 2023: Kevin Smith

  • 2022: Gabriel Andres

  • 2021: Monica Acosta

  • 2020: Emmy Bean & Dan Kerr-Hobert; Lenny Zieben

About Katie

September 24, 1982 – May 12, 2017

Katie Kurcz was an arts administrator who dedicated her career to building awareness and capacity for arts organizations. Katie knew better than most people about the impact of the arts on individuals and communities. A talented painter in her own right, Katie supported the visual, performing, and language arts, and after attending graduate school, she worked for almost a decade with arts organizations across Chicago. 

Katie became acquainted with Snow City Arts in 2010, and shortly thereafter volunteered to be the founding co-chair of the Snow City Arts Auxiliary Board. For seven years, she led the charge to build a strong, capable network of advocates. Her contributions and dedication had a profound impact on Snow City Arts, and much of the Auxiliary Board’s success can be traced directly to Katie’s energy, passion, and boundless spirit. Her establishment of Team Snow City Arts, a group of staff, board, and supporters who participate in our annual fundraising run, has generated tens of thousands of dollars and has brought awareness of our mission to hundreds of new people.

For the nearly two years that Katie battled cancer, she continued to be driven by her dedication to the arts, and never wavered in her passion for Snow City Arts and our important work. As she spent those months in and out of treatment, she developed a new perspective and appreciation for how a creative enrichment could bolster the most vulnerable among us, and developed a renewed interest in supporting the teaching artists who facilitate moments of freedom and creativity in the otherwise-hectic lives of young people in hospitals.

We are forever grateful to Katie and her immense impact on Snow City Arts, and have created the Katie Kurcz Memorial Fund in celebration of her talent, passion, and spirit.

Founding Donors

We extend our gratitude to the founding Katie Kurcz Memorial Fund donors:

Francie Abramson
Adobe
Mario Alberico
Andersonville Guesthouse
Claudia Arzeno
Assurant, Inc.
Charles and Nancy Baggett
Kimberly Baird
Karthik Balaji
Cherie Balan
Jim and Bev Ballor
Suzanne Bartlett
Brooke Benjamin
Peter and Paula Bergin
John Bierbusse
Rosalind Blaurock
Susan Bodine
Sumi Bose
Joel and Patricia Bright
Therese Brown
Arnold Bundy
Robin Canfield
Susan Carne
Karen Carpenter
Rene Carter
Phillip and Laura Cathlina
Carolyn Cecil
Michelle Chaitow
Anita Chakin and Ed Copelin
Barbara Charney
Chicago Cultural Alliance
Kathryn Cochill
Alex Cohan
Greta Cohan
Richard and Nina Cohan
David Cohen
Ronald Cohen
Zach Cohen
Anne Connolly
Richard and Chris Conrad
John Darguzas
Joseph and Christine Darguzas
Julia Dillon
Lorraine Dillon
Maggie Dillon
Jerry Donaldson

Karen and Doug Douglas
Maggie Douglas
Kate Dumbleton
James Ellis
Emily Farber
Linda and Sam Fisher
Erin Flatley
Amy Fleming
Sarah Frye
Noemi Garcia
Google, Inc.
Allison Green and Joseph Madison
D. Stewart Green
David and Susan Green
George and Sue Harding
Jackie Harman
Jessica Hathorn
Janet Havlik
Andreas and Ginger Hecht
Kirsten Hein
Michele and Douglas Helmuth
Elizabeth and Jeff Henderson
Cathy and Dan Hernandez
Andrew Holtz
Veronica and Scott Horbinski
Brian Inman
David and Mary Jackson
Daniel Jacobson
Jennifer Jansen
Rebecca Jensen
Steve Johnson
Shayna Jones
Martin Kappert
Kimberly Kavala
Joan Keiser
Lauren Kellar
Susan Kenn
Gary Ketner and Janice Clements
Liz Ketner
Amy Kieckhefer
Phil Kiracofe
Mary Kral
Lynnda Kratovil
Jessica Kull

Shara and Chris Kurcz
Tom and Mary Kurcz
Komloy Kutz
Monica Labelle
Kenneth and Judith Lamkin
Josephine Lamp
Cortney Lederer
Marcy Leonard
Bruce and Marilyn Levin
Doris Levy
Lesle Lewis
Ronald and Sachiko Lewis
Margaret LoSasso
Bob and Cindy Lowell
Tom and Laura Madison
Julie Mainelli
Scott and Kathleen Maizel
Jessica Martin
Shirley Massey
Jane McCann
Michael Morton
Eric Naumburg
Jesse Parmentier
Jim and Shirl Parmentier
Amy Peters
Judith Phibbs
The Pierce Family Foundation
Dianne Pitman
Patricia Polston
Sabrina Potterpin
Roberta Privette
Doug and Leslie Quint
Clarke Reddick
Paul and Laura Riger
Sarah Robinson
Deanna Roll
Anne Romens
Jamie Rooney
Shelley Roth
Ciara Rowley
Toby Sachs
Susan Sandler
Andrea Sanger
Emily Sawyer

Peter Schmitz and Bronwyn Poole
Daniel Schnur
Robert Schnur and Betty Karweick
Joan Schoenstene
Kate Sheehy
Tim and Trish Sinclair
Cathy Skala and Michael Hoover
Bruce and Kathie Smith
Frank Smith
Janis Smyers
Ginny Snyder
Mary Sova and Peter Handler
The Space Movement Project
Carrie Spitler
Sharon Spitzer
Carla Stevens
Mike Stevens
William Stevens
Laura Suozzo
Hannah Swartz
Kristen Teasdale
Elissa Tenny
Nicole Vioujas
Mai Vukcevich
Sally Vukcevich
Ashley Walter
Larrietta Ward
John and Donna Welp
Tracey Wentz
Francine Werdinger
Irene Whitaker
Laura Willis
Francesca Wilmott
Jennifer Wohl
Alison Woods
Paula and Elliott Woods
Diane Yamazaki
Rebecca Zeligman and Eric Naumburg
Marie Ziesat
Jackie Zorger

Every effort was made to ensure the accuracy of this list. If you notice an error, please accept our apology and contact info@snowcityarts.org.