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The 5th Annual Chicago Culture Ball brought more than 700 guests and 20-plus honorees together at the Obama Presidential Center to celebrate the city’s cultural legacy.
By Kimberly Wilson
Edited by Paris A Glover
The South Side of Chicago has always been ground zero for Black cultural invention. And on August 15, that legacy got its flowers at the Obama Presidential Center, where more than 700 people packed the space for the 5th Annual Chicago Culture Ball.
Presented by Eventnoire with Rémy Martin as presenting sponsor, the Ball has spent five years building a distinct place on Chicago’s cultural calendar, bringing together the artists, entrepreneurs, tastemakers and civic leaders whose work continues to define the city’s legacy and global influence.
And this year’s honoree list showcased the city’s brilliance with a wide range of talent. Buddy Guy received the Music Legend Award, honoring the career of a musician whose sound has been inseparable from Chicago blues for more than seven decades. The award was presented by his daughter, multi-platinum rapper and singer Shawnna, adding a personal moment to one of the evening’s most significant honors. Artist Hebru Brantley, whose Flyboy and Flygirl characters have become instantly recognizable across galleries, murals and merchandise worldwide, earned the Excellence in Artistry Award and came home to Chicago to be honored in the city that raised him. Fashion entrepreneur and cultural architect Don C received the Fashion Icon Award for his global influence on streetwear and fashion. Alongside the late Virgil Abloh, Don C co-founded RSVP Gallery, the Chicago boutique that became a hub for fashion, music and creative culture. Rémy Martin, the Culture Ball’s Gold Sponsor, presented the honor, with John Monopoly taking the stage to present the award, while Grammy-winning poet J. Ivy accepted the Griot Award and used his moment to tell the crowd that Chicago has never let him down.
The rest of the honoree list stretched across nearly every corner of the city’s influence. Illinois State Rep. Kam Buckner, Speaker Pro Tempore of the House and the legislator behind Illinois’ NIL law and the Midwest’s first ghost gun ban, took home the Civic Leadership Award. CurlMix founder Kim Lewis, who once turned down $400,000 on Shark Tank and built a company that has since crossed $50 million in lifetime sales, was recognized with the Beauty & Cultural Innovation Award. Chicago Loop Alliance President and CEO Dr. Suzet McKinney received the Leadership & Resilience Award, and Crowned Skin founder Darrell Spencer, who left a corporate career at Google and Meta to build a men’s grooming brand now doing eight figures, took the Beauty Innovator Award.
More than a dozen other honorees rounded out the night, spanning radio, hospitality, philanthropy, medicine and youth advocacy:
The Brand Visionary Award: Keeana Barber, CEO, WDB Marketing
The Cornerstone Award: Trez V. Pugh III, President & Chairman, Sip & Savor Hospitality Group
The Voice of the City: Tone Kapone, Radio Personality, iHeartMedia
The Community Builder Award: Charles Beloved Kuykendoll, CEO, Charles Beloved Productions
The Pioneer Award: Kareem Edwards, Owner/Operator, Chick-fil-A South Loop
The Sound of the City Award: Sean Mac, DJ, WGCI
The Economic Equity Award: Jason T. Mercer, Principal, CAST US
The Emerging Leader Award: McKinley Nelson, Founder, Project sWish Chicago
The Business Leadership Award: Keiana A. Williams, CEO, Business Leadership Council
The Legacy & Impact Award: Theresa Luster, Chief Marketing Officer, Luster Products Inc.
The Wellness & Advocacy Award: Dr. Wendy Goodall McDonald, OB-GYN and founder, EveryBodi Brand
The Community Development Award: Rashauna Scott
The People & Culture Leadership Award: Dr. Veronica Appleton, PhD, Senior Vice President, Publicis Groupe
Hosts for the evening included Bri “Ballinois” Smith and Charles Beloved Kuykendoll.
“Chicago has always been a city that creates culture that the rest of the world embraces,” said Jeff Osuji, founder of Eventnoire and the Chicago Culture Ball. “The Chicago Culture Ball is about making sure we celebrate and give recognition to the people behind that influence.”
Chicago rarely gets credited the way New York or Los Angeles do when people talk about where American culture actually comes from, even though house music, gospel, blues, some of the sharpest streetwear in the country and a long list of major contemporary artists trace straight back to the South and West Sides. The Culture Ball also invests in Chicago’s next generation through its scholarship initiative, which supported three students this year. The ceremony honored the late Landon “DJ Commando” Wallace, a force in the Chicago community, with his family selecting Justin Lambert, an incoming freshman at North Carolina A&T State University, as a recipient. Melanin Money also sponsored one of this year’s awards, expanding the initiative’s reach.
The announcement drew a standing ovation in Wallace’s memory.
2027 marks six years of the Chicago Culture Ball. This year, its growing archive of Chicago excellence entered new territory at the Obama Presidential Center, hosting the first gala of its kind at the Center.
Chicago has always been a cultural giant. The Culture Ball is making sure its legacy is impossible to overlook.