On February 25, 2026, The Block Museum of Art at Northwestern University hosted artist Jonathan Castillo for a conversation about his ongoing photographic project Immigrant Owned. He spoke with Myrna García, Associate Professor of Instruction in Latinx Studies, about the stories, processes, and questions that drive his work across Chicago and beyond.

“I want people to connect with the work however they connect with it. If it’s just one photograph that reminds them of a place or a person in their own life, that’s enough. I hope it sparks curiosity, that people go out into the city, visit these spaces, and start to see things they might not have noticed before.”

Selections from Immigrant Owned were on view in the Living Room, The Block’s student-centered space for close looking and reflection. The program, like the installation, asked audiences to think about how photography can bring visibility to immigrant communities and their contributions to the city.

Castillo’s project started as graduate thesis work and has grown across Chicago neighborhoods and into public spaces, including a major installation at O’Hare International Airport. Photographing small businesses and their owners, he creates portraits and interiors that function as both individual encounters and a collective portrait of the city.

Throughout the conversation, Castillo talked about the relationships built through the project and the stories that emerge from these interactions, some brief, others deeply personal. García placed this work in the context of longer histories of immigration and image-making, noting how photography has often been used to surveil and exclude, and how Castillo’s approach offers images built on trust and presence.

“As long as we remember that we all come from somewhere, whether it’s us, our parents, or generations back, it keeps us grounded. It makes us more willing to accept difference and make room for when cultures and experiences meet.”

Rather than telling one story, Immigrant Owned makes room for many. It asks viewers to reflect on their own connections, to ask questions, and to think about how histories of migration have shaped the city we share.