CHICAGO — Dozens of Chicago artists have drafted a letter to Mayor Brandon Johnson expressing “deep concern” over alleged failures in his administration’s work for the arts community.

The letter, posted to Instagram Wednesday as a petition people can sign, harshly criticizes Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events Commissioner Clinée Hedspeth, appointed by Johnson a year ago. As Chicago artists and cultural institutions face “a unique and critical time” amid inflation, federal funding cuts and declining attendance, “needs are not being met” under Hedspeth’s leadership, the letter reads.

“The department’s budget, staff, and influence have diminished during your tenure, and the department has lost invaluable talent—as well as the confidence of Chicago’s creative sector,” the self-dubbed “Artists for Chicago” told Johnson in the letter.

The rare public condemnation from 100 named arts and culture industry signees comes two months after the Chicago Tribune first reported allegations that Hedspeth bullied staff and did not communicate with arts leaders.

The signees span a range of positions and organizations in the local arts and culture world, from DCASE grantees and actors to curators and former department employees, according to the petition. The still-circulating letter references reports of bullying, staff-turnover and nonengagement in the department. It also alleges lapses in the department’s “essential functions.”

“Artists and cultural organizations have not received timely payments, grant opportunities have been postponed, and reporting portals have not opened,” it says. “These lapses have led to individuals and organizations being denied adequate time to apply and unable to complete the work they have been contracted to produce.”

Hedspeth acknowledged the concerns in a statement to the Tribune Wednesday. She reaffirmed a commitment “to the thriving cultural landscape of Chicago” and said she took the complaints seriously.

“The arts and culture sector are vital to the heart and soul of Chicago, and I remain steadfast in my pledge to supporting and empowering this community,” she said.

Karla Estela Rivera, a spokesperson for Artists for Chicago, said a group of seven lead organizers and 35 “strategic partners” came together in recent weeks after Hedspeth did not come to a public meeting she had been expected to attend that followed earlier calls for better community engagement. The leaders and partners are all “artists, arts administrators, arts educators, all who have either interfaced or who DCASE’s moves directly impact,” she said.

Before that “last straw,” some in the arts community had already felt “ghosted” by Hedspeth, said Rivera, who previously led the Free Street Theater and now works as an independent artist and consultant. The mayor has the right to appoint whomever he chooses to head the department, she said.

“It is the subsequent shifts that have occurred,” she said. “We really need a strong ally and advocate at DCASE that is supporting us vocally. And writ large, folks are not feeling that.”

“That’s really what’s driving this,” Rivera continued. “It isn’t about an axe to grind over people feeling some kind of way about the personnel decisions he made. It’s that this change created a sea-change in the department that has deep impact at the community level.”

The petition’s sign-on form was circulated by its organizers before it was shared publicly on social media Wednesday. People who want to sign it must log in with an email and select their role in the arts and culture community from a list provided. Signees can add a name or opt to remain anonymous before their names are placed by organizers on the letter.

Rivera contended the form was secure and the signees are people affected by DCASE policy.

The letter comes after a tumultuous few months at DCASE, during which Hedspeth faced several allegations against her and oversaw the display of a pro-Palestinian protest puppet that aldermen called for the removal of in a letter of their own.

A recent formal complaint made to the Office of Inspector General Deborah Witzburg against Hedspeth by an anonymous former DCASE worker alleged Hedspeth forced several staff members to resign under threat of firing.

The complaint, made in January, shares broad allegations similar to four more complaints previously reported by the Tribune. In those, anonymous employees alleged Hedspeth shouted curses at them in public and warned them to “watch your back” at work. One complaint alleged Hedspeth wanted a retaliatory “witchhunt” against an arts organization whose leader criticized the mayor, while another said she treated staffers “like a personal assistant.”

In all five complaints, city investigators determined investigations should not move forward. They cited a lack of witness cooperation, “speculative” allegations and an absence of violations of “protected categories.”

As complaints mount, so do staff exits. The department’s full-time head count dropped from 72 employees just before Hedspeth’s appointment to 59 in April. At least 23 employees left the department in that time, the Tribune previously reported.

Hedspeth called the turnover “unfortunate” in her statement, but said it’s “a natural part of any leadership transition.”

“I understand the concerns regarding the impact of this turnover on the department’s operations, and I want to assure the public that we are in the process of recruiting and retaining talented professionals to ensure DCASE functions at the highest level,” she said.

She also committed to enhancing the department’s grant distribution process.

Some of the city’s top appointed arts advisers also previously alleged Hedspeth failed to listen to and work with cultural leaders. Amina Dickerson, a member of the city’s Cultural Advisory Council who signed on to the letter, cited a pattern of noncommunication in early February when Hedspeth cancelled one of the council’s quarterly meetings.

The commissioner’s staff pointed to a newly scheduled meeting when asked about the accusation. The advisory council typically meets with the DCASE commissioner quarterly, giving its appointed members — currently nonprofit directors, artists, theater executives, museum leaders, magazine editors and more — the opportunity to help steer and implement the city’s cultural work in an open, public discussion. But when the group finally met in late February, Hedspeth was a no-show.

The council consisted at the time exclusively of members appointed by former Mayor Lori Lightfoot. In March, Johnson appointed six new members, though the council’s 29 members remain primarily arts leaders he did not appoint.

The meeting began with Joanna Furnans, executive director of Chicago Dancemakers Forum, taking what was then a lone public stance to criticize Hedspeth during a public comment period. Furnans highlighted delayed grant payments, poor communication and reports of “unacceptable treatment” of department staff.

“I’m concerned, and I know others are as well,” Furnans said. “Will the commissioner, whom I don’t see at the moment, and will the council respond to these concerns?”

Instead, the commissioner didn’t come to the meeting in person and appeared only via video. She spoke for two minutes and did not address Furnans’ concerns.

“Not sure that people didn’t know that I was not going to be in person, so apologies, I thought that was communicated, that I will have to have a hard stop,” Hedspeth said before quickly touting department highlights.

Staff said she then logged off.

The meeting continued with council members airing their frustration with Hedspeth’s unexplained decision to not meet with them. In comment after comment, they blasted the commissioner for failing to show up as Donald Trump’s new presidency threatened to upend their already deeply destabilized industries.

Esther Grimm, executive director of 3Arts, spoke toward the end of the meeting to criticize DCASE for not leading the way on a response to Trump.

“I’m feeling in my gut a lot of distress right now,” she said. “There is urgency here. This is our beloved city department of arts and culture, and it has to start here. We have got to proceed more swiftly than we are.”

Grimm’s foreboding message has so far proved prescient. Sudden cuts in federal funding have left Illinois Humanities, a statewide nonprofit that funds humanities work, with a $1 million budget gap.

Department spokesperson Bria Purdiman did not answer when asked that day and again later where Hedspeth was during the February meeting.

A FOIA request for the commissioner’s schedule revealed she planned to tour an Art Institute exhibit with Johnson’s wife, first lady Stacie Johnson, during that time. Purdiman said she did not attend that scheduled visit, which would have occurred two blocks from where the council simultaneously met.

Coya Paz, chair of the advisory council, said she had not been alerted that Hedspeth would not attend the meeting. Afterward, she noted that the mayor was elected “with a strong push from artists.” She added that she does not doubt the mayor or Hedspeth care about arts and culture.

“I think what we’re missing is communication about what that means in this particular administration and leadership,” Paz said. “We are all waiting for them with really open arms.”

The day after the meeting, Hedspeth emailed the city’s top attorney, Mary Richardson-Lowry, to request a meeting “to discuss a few items,” according to records obtained by the Tribune.

Hedspeth said in her Wednesday statement that she deeply values the council and recognizes “the wealth of experience it brings.”

Asked in February if he was aware of the allegations of bullying and nonengagement against Hedspeth, Johnson declined to answer.

“So, I don’t discuss personnel issues,” he said. Hedspeth served as the mayor’s legislative director for over two years when he was a Cook County commissioner.

Johnson fired former Commissioner Erin Harkey, a Lightfoot appointee, a year into his term to make space for Hedspeth. The decision to oust the popular commissioner surprised many in the arts community. Harkey was named CEO of the Washington, D.C., nonprofit Americans for the Arts in February.

The letter publicly shared Wednesday, which also included 23 anonymous signees, called on Hedspeth to commit to attending the council’s meeting in person and answering questions. It also asked her to communicate a vision for the department, citing a Tribune interview shared shortly after her appointment in which she declined to elaborate on her goals as commissioner.

The group also raised the alarm about staff turnover and called for Johnson to “audit essential operations” and called on the mayor and others to address the bullying allegations reported by the Tribune.

The letter marks a sharp turn for several of its signees. The group noted that many among its ranks proudly supported Johnson as he ran for mayor.

Johnson spoke passionately about the arts and promised to make Chicago a “rich destination for culture and creativity” while campaigning, the letter said. He has continued to laud community-based artists and organizations since, it continued.

“The commissioner’s actions and inactions move antithetically to these expressed values,” it said.

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