Nelson W. Armour: Teaching, on view from April 2 through May 3, 2026 at Perspective Gallery, brings together photographs created during the artist’s residency with Artists in the Public Schools. Over the course of two academic years, Nelson W. Armour immersed himself in the daily rhythms of Chicago classrooms, turning his lens toward a profession that shapes generations yet often remains unseen in its full complexity. The resulting body of work offers a thoughtful tribute to the labor, patience, and conviction that define teaching.
Armour’s essay moves beyond the familiar image of a teacher at the front of a classroom. His photographs follow educators through early-morning preparation, late-afternoon grading, staff meetings, professional development sessions, parent conferences, and after-school activities. In doing so, he reveals teaching as a continuum of visible and invisible work. Small gestures—a hand on a student’s shoulder, a marked-up lesson plan, a quiet moment of reflection at a desk—accumulate into a broader portrait of dedication. The images balance intimacy with structure, echoing the ordered yet improvisational nature of the classroom itself.
The residency unfolded at Lázaro Cárdenas Elementary School in Little Village during the 2021–22 school year and later at Michele Clark Academic Prep Magnet High School in Austin during 2023–24. By working across grade levels and neighborhoods, Armour highlights both the shared foundations and distinct challenges of public education. His photographs suggest that teaching is at once intensely local and broadly civic, rooted in community while tied to larger social systems.
Founded to connect artists with public schools across the city, Artists in the Public Schools fosters collaborations that preserve and celebrate the stories of Chicago’s educational communities. Armour’s contribution stands as a visual archive of commitment and care. Rather than romanticizing the profession, the exhibition acknowledges its pressures and constraints while affirming its enduring purpose. Through steady observation and respect for his subjects, Armour invites viewers to reconsider the meaning of teaching—not as a single act, but as a sustained practice of attention, resilience, and belief in the future.
Image:
Nelson W. Armour: Teaching #18 © Nelson W. Armour, courtesy of Perspective Gallery