Richard Tran

Arts Program Officer

Richard Tran (they/he) is the Arts Program Officer for the Field Foundation of Illinois and a former Field Fellow. Richard supports organizations, cooperatives, collectives and artists leading projects in historically and systemically divested communities of Chicago.

Richard grew up in Uptown, right off Chicago’s Argyle Redline stop where Vietnamese migrants settled as they formed new diasporic communities.

It was at their parents’ restaurant on Argyle where preschooler Richard witnessed the most beautiful artistic social practice they could imagine—the power and prowess of community members in action, doing their best to hustle through the innumerable social and systemic ills working against them and their loved ones.

Through community-led efforts, Richard studied Visual Arts at Oberlin College with support from the Posse Foundation and completed their graduate studies at the University of Chicago’s School of Social Service Administration. Richard is a former Lane Tech Ceramic Studio whiz-kid, a Marwen student alum, and a proud product of Uptown’s Multicultural Youth Project. Richard’s artwork has been featured in exhibitions and publications, and they have participated in artist residencies in New York City and Ghana.

Email:: rtran@fieldfoundation.org