ELGIN SMITH
Elgin Bokari T. Smith (aka Kari the Illustrator) is an artist, social activist, and educator who grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. Discovering a passion for art in elementary school while drawing his favorite cartoon characters on his homework, Elgin was encouraged to pursue art by his sixth-grade teacher. He then attended Central Visual and Performing Arts High School, where he studied visual arts, ceramics, and piano. In 2009, he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Illustration and Sculpture at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. After graduation, Elgin worked as an assistant for Chicago artist Theaster Gates.
Elgin has collaborated with Colin Kaepernick's Know Your Rights Camp, Jane Addams Hull-House Museum, and Northwestern University School of Law on projects around juvenile justice, including producing the zine Youth Stories and creating illustrations for Your Guide to the Juvenile Justice System and Chicago Survival guide. He has worked as a teaching artist for organizations including Changing Worlds, Columbia College Chicago, Gary Comer Youth Center, and Kuumba Lynx. He led advanced youth Development Training for emerging teachers across Chicago through the Black Community Providers Network (BDCN). Elgin served as the former Program Director of Free Write Arts & Literacy and was president of the activist and artist collective Elephant Rebellion. He is currently the Executive Director of Stomping Grounds Literary Arts Initiative (SGLAI). SGLAI runs incubator spaces inside youth incarcerated facilities, hosting workshops ranging from visual arts, creative writing, and audio engineering. SGLAI also hosts monthly Open Stages at the Chicago Art Department while training formally incarcerated on Audio Visual Production (AVP). He is also the co-creator of Pocket Con, an annual comic book convention that celebrates characters and creators of color.
Featured Artworks
Elgin at Open Stage
https://www.sglai.org/post/open-stage-haibayo-a-night-of-community-creativity-celebration
Haibayo Care Program
in 2025 my org SGLAI expanded into uptown Chicago in collaboration with Haibayo we worked with a cohort of youth teaching comic books, djing, beat making and creative writing :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VIUx4RYnZg
Highlights from Stomping Grounds 2024
https://www.sglai.org/post/stomping-grounds-in-2024
Chicago Soul Poem: A City That Writes Together — Full Film Release Party
My org was commissioned by Chicago Poet Laureate Avery R. Young, SGLAI filmed the Chicago Soul Poem (Soloem) Series, documenting 30 poets responding to the question: What is the soul of Chicago? Highlights: Sponsored by DCASE 20 videos selected for screening alongside the Millennium Park Concert Series Featured artists included Starla Thompson, Ed Roberson, Nile Lansana, J. Ivy, Blaq Ice, Eve L. Ewing, Reginald Gibbons, Faylita Hicks, Rich Robbins, Ugochi Nwaogwugwu, Marguerite Harrold, Raych Jackson, Deana Dean, Vanessa De Guia, Olivia Mulcahy, Jenn Morea, April Gipson, Kim Ransom, Angela Jackson, cin salach, Patricia Smith, Billy Tuggle, Davon Cecil, Jamila Woods, Jermaine Nolen, Leslé Honoré, Avery R. Young, E’mon Lauren, Melinda Hernandez Two SGLAI youth poems were selected: Azreya’s poem read by Leslie Honore Dahlia’s poem read by Raych Jackson: https://www.sglai.org/post/chicago-soul-poem-a-city-that-writes-together-full-film-release-recap
Stomping Grounds Audio Visual Production Crew with J. IVY, Avery R. Young and Emon Lauren
https://www.sglai.org/post/day-3-in-the-books-wrapping-the-chicago-soul-poem-shoot
Locked Achievements at the Little Village Library
My org had gallery in the Little Village Library called Locked Achievements featuring comic book illustration and poems created by the youth in the Juvenile detention center. I took a picture with Lucy Park of the Korean Sejong Cultural Society
SGLAI Classroom Creed
Elgin is creating a classroom culture with a creed that reflects the intentions of SGLAI workshops. https://www.sglai.org/about-3
Pocket Con Cosplay Contest
https://www.sglai.org/post/pocket-con-2023-recap-video
Open Stage at Garfield Park
March of 2026 we hosted Open Stage at the Garfield Park Conservatory for more info check out this: https://www.sglai.org/post/open-stage-featuring-paige-ellis
Youth Stories By Elgin Bokari
A zine about my first experience teaching a comics class in JTDC
SGLAI Board of Directors
My org hit a huge milestone in 2025 becoming an official 501c3 here is a picture of our first governing board: https://www.sglai.org/post/stomping-grounds-literary-arts-initiative-march-newsletter
Elgins Illustrations
OPEN STAGE AT Garfield Park
Comics Justice Workshop 2026
On March 5, Elgin Bokari led a workshop alongside James Sturm, founder of Center for Cartoon Studies, as part of a comics workshop hosted by Illinois Humanities titled Beyond Punishment: Applied Cartooning for a Liberatory Future.
Elephant Rebellion Performing
Know Your RIght's Camp Chicago Resource Map
10 Street Law Commandments
My illustrations were used in a Know Your Rights workshops teaching how to survive basic encounters with law enforcement. Watch the video in the link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRDIuY3bxJc
Elgin Working with Audio Visual Productions crew
Elephant Rebellion Performing at Coming Out of The Shadows
Know Your RIght's Camp
SGLAI Classroom Values
Stomping Grounds Workshops
Open Stage Workshop at Chicago Art Department
Elgin Leading workshop at Elephant Rebellion event Uprise Against Police Brutality
Stomping Grounds on zoom during the pandemic
Open Stage live at Art Department
Student comic book art work
Elgin hosting Pocket Con
Facing Me - Student work from Elgin's comic class in the juvenile center
Masking yourself- ceramic sculpture project in the juvenile center
Your Guide To The Juvenile Justice System
This comic was created to teach youth their juvenile rights if they were ever stopped in a police interaction. The comic was distributed across the Chicagoland area, turned into workshops, and used to create more guides for other states.
Going Back To School What You Should Know
This was created to help youth with recourses for retry after incarceration.
Album Art for Lee Howard
Locked Achievements Gallery at Curts Cafe
https://www.sglai.org/post/locked-achievements-a-gallery-of-work-by-incarcerated-youth
Youth at Pocket Con over the years
Youth winning prize at Pocket Con after answering Black Comic History Facts
AYD Cohort
Elgin co faciliated an Advance Youth Development Training for a cohort of amazing teachers across Chicago.
Flyer of Stomping Grounds Open Stage
Stomping Grounds is a monthly Open Mic streamed online via Twitch.tv/stompinggroundslai, YouTube, and recently Instagram Live.
Zion ALI with Stomping Grounds Open Stage artists
Elgin and Walter (AVP Tech) at Open Stage
ELGIN SMITH has crowd-funded a project with 3AP
-
- $5,469 raised of $5,000 goal
- 0 Days 0:00:00 LEFT
Pocket Con is a free single day convention for Chicago youth that focuses on highlighting comics and illustration work by artists of color, particularly African American authors and artists, as well as comics with a primary character who is Black. …
Read more about Pocket Con -
- $6,402 raised of $6,000 goal
- 0 Days 0:00:00 LEFT
Unlocked Voices is the continuation of the Stomping Grounds Literary Arts Initiative mission to uplift and support incarcerated youth by giving them the creative tools to express themselves, process their experiences, and imagine new futures. This campaign builds off the …
Read more about Unlocked Voices: A Fall Creative Arts Campaign for Youth Inside the JTDC