two men shaking hands in front of columns

Impact through purposeful action

The promises we keep today lay the foundation for tomorrow — the journey starts now.

latest impact posts

Beyond Black History Month: Celebrating Black Artists Year-Round

We’ve entered a new year, and we have a new administration, yet the challenges that we face as Americans are as old as any of us can remember. Every February, we celebrate Black History Month and then feel like we have done our part in recognizing both the adversity and the contributions of Black Americans in the making of America as we know it. However, I would argue that recognition limited to this one month, the shortest month of the year in fact, is not enough. Understanding and celebrating Black history is critical to the unification and healing that our country so deeply needs. What has been obvious to Black communities for the past couple of centuries, has finally made its way into broader American awareness, amplified by the events of 2020. This awareness is most welcome, but it is our response to the awareness that will be the most important thing.

February's Featured Artist: Theaster Gates

My great friend, Theaster Gates, is a visual artist and urban planner who describes himself as “equal parts artist, bureaucrat, and hustler.” As an artist, Gates creates multimedia projects, installations, and performance art that confront issues of social justice, racial inequality, and poverty in the United States.

January's Featured Artist: Kerry James Marshall

Untitled (Pen), 1998. C-Print. Gallerist: Kavi Gupta, Chicago Kerry James Marshall was born in 1955 in Birmingham, Alabama before his family moved to South Central Los Angeles where he was raised in the Watts neighborhood—known for the riots in 1965 that were a response to police brutality. Marshall witnessed the riots and grew up surrounded by the Civil Rights and Black Power movements of the 1960s, which impacted him deeply and shaped his perspective as an artist.

Inspiring Trust — An Interview with Jason Hartman

As part of my series about the “Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During Turbulent Times," I had the pleasure of interviewing Bob Clark. Bob Clark is executive chairman of Clayco, which he founded in 1984. The enterprise ranks among the top builders in North America and in 2019 achieved 3 billion dollars in U.S. revenue. The company focuses on large projects in the corporate and commercial, mission critical, logistics, aviation, manufacturing, healthcare, higher education, life sciences and public-sector markets.

December's Featured Artist: Amoako Boafo

Teju, 2019. Oil on Canvas. Gallerist: Mariane Ibrahim, Chicago. Ghanian artist Amoako Boafo resides between Vienna, Austria, where he has lived since 2014, and Accra, Ghana where he was born in 1984. He never imagined that his childhood love for painting would turn into a career as an artist. After losing his father when he was very young, he was raised solely by his mother, who worked as a cook. As a child, he taught himself to paint at home while his mother was away at work.

Racial Equality, Diversity and Mentorship in CRE

A couple of months ago, I was asked to join BisNow’s Webinar on Racial Equality, Diversity and Mentorship in CRE (commercial real estate). I was joined by four other industry leaders and pioneers in racial equality, including Damona Strautmanis who served as the moderator for the event. I wanted to share what we discussed during the webinar because there are few topics as important as diversity and inclusion in the workplace. DS: Thank you for joining us Bob, do you have a fun fact to share?

IMPACT

The Clark Art Collection

Explore

Impact

The key choices we make in this life

Some of the key choices that we get to make in this life are the things we prioritize, both with our finances and with our energy and efforts.

Over the course of my life, my priorities have shifted immensely, and I now spend a large amount of my time focusing on the work that our foundation is doing, as well as being engaged in impactful community efforts. The majority of the work that we are a part of is aimed at issues directly affecting my family and the Clayco community.