The Music in My HeART

The Music in My HeART
Solo Exhibition by Antonia Ruppert
January 22nd – February 24th, 2024 At The Octagon Community Gallery

Exhibition Dates:
January 22nd, 2024 – Exhibition Opening Day
February 24th, 2024 – Exhibition Closes

Artist Biography:
Chicago-born Antonia Ruppert is an artist, singer-songwriter and educator who has been
painting for over 30 years. Growing up in the Austin community, she creates paintings that
connect people and tell a story. The oldest of six siblings, with no funds to purchase art
supplies, she recalls drawing on discarded paper inserts from her Mom’s stockings. These
humble beginnings have been instrumental in inspiring hundreds of paintings and drawings,
where hope, faith and community are central.
Ruppert was the 2021 Invest South/West Artist in Residence for Chicago’s Austin community
and the 2022 Artist in Residence for the Addison Public Library. Ruppert is an honoree of the
Peggy A. Montes Unsung Heroine Award for Cook County, IL.
Ruppert has been featured in the Museum of Science and Industry Black Creativity Exhibition,
Moraine Valley Community College and the Dupage Art League’s Best of the Best Exhibition.
Her favorite paintings and murals can be found in numerous regional venues including the
Chicago Public Library, Berwyn North District 98 Elementary Schools, University of Chicago
Hospitals, Acorn Public Library, Addison Public Library, Austin Childcare Network, Chicago
School of Professional Psychology, Forest Park Park District, Elmwood Park Public Library,
Grand Prairie Services, Living Springs Community Church, Markham Public Library, Near
North Montessori School, Oak Forest Park District and the Oak Park Area Arts Council.
In 2021, she collaborated with the Office of the Mayor of the City of Berwyn and the Award-
Winning Junior State of America Morton West Debate Club Chapter to commission and speak
at the first Juneteenth Commemoration held in the city. Most recently, she supported the
Mayor of the Village of Hazel Crest and the new 2023 Arts Committee.
Ruppert is thankful to God for her gifts and is the illustrator of a recently published children’s
book —The Place Where I Belong—by Candice Klopfenstein.
Ruppert’s art and music will be featured in upcoming exhibitions at the Harold Washington
Library Center, The Chicago Public Library North Austin Branch Library and now the Octagon
Center for the Arts in Ames, Iowa in 2024.
Ruppert is well known at the frontlines of the artivist community and seeks to uplift her entire
community with artistic expression. Like African American sculptor, Elizabeth Catlett, Ruppert
aims to “do something for the betterment of all of us.”