Joanna, Polish Vibes Gift Gallery, Chicago (Belmont Central)

Photograph

-

DePaul Art Museum

Name/Title

Joanna, Polish Vibes Gift Gallery, Chicago (Belmont Central)

Entry/Object ID

2025.12.02

Description

Photograph of owner, Joanna, inside her store Polish Vibes Gift Gallery in Chicago's Belmont Central neighborhood. Joanna is seated center at the counter with items for sale surrounding her, including Polish, Ukrainian, Canadian, American, and Chicago flags. "Polska" tee-shirts, and a variation of Van Gogh's "Starry Night" with the Chicago skyline hang behind her.

Context

Meticulously composed, Castillo’s photographs document dozens of businesses—along with their owners and employees—bringing renewed attention to the ongoing debates surrounding immigration in the United States. Rather than addressing the issue confrontationally, which he believes can cause people to disengage, Castillo juxtaposes the vibrant aesthetics of these shops with the subtlety of his message. “I’m hoping to make a project that’s very honorific for the people who start these businesses and operate them and run them,” he has said. “If people see them, it might even remind them of their own parents’ small business” (Borderless Magazine, 2024). By presenting the topic of immigration in a non-combative way, Castillo hopes the project will resonate across political lines and reach the widest possible audience.

Acquisition

Accession

2025.12

Source or Donor

Castillo, Jonathan

Acquisition Method

Purchase

Credit Line

Courtesy of the artist

Made/Created

Artist Information

Artist

Castillo, Jonathan

Role

Photographer

Date made

2022

Notes

Printed in 2025

Edition

Edition Size

10

Edition Number

2

Inscription/Signature/Marks

Type

Signature

Location

Reverse

Transcription

2/10 / Jonathan Michael Castillo / 2025/2022

Language

English

Material/Technique

Pencil

Lexicon

Nomenclature 4.0

Nomenclature Secondary Object Term

Print, Photographic

Nomenclature Primary Object Term

Photograph

Nomenclature Sub-Class

Graphic Documents

Nomenclature Class

Documentary Objects

Nomenclature Category

Category 08: Communication Objects

Getty AAT

Concept

photographs, visual works (works), portraits

Hierarchy Name

Visual Works (hierarchy name), Visual and Verbal Communication (hierarchy name)

Facet

Objects Facet

LOC Thesaurus for Graphic Materials

Immigrants, Business enterprises, Gift shops

Dimensions

Height

17 in

Width

22 in