Rachel Dukes is a Chicago-based freelance writer, independent curator, and arts administrator from Grand Prairie/Arlington, Texas. Rachel’s practice incorporates her interest and research on (Afro) Surrealism which she defines as a surrender of the mind to the realm of the unknown and marvelous to challenge conventional modes of being.
Rachel earned her undergraduate degree in Accounting from the University of Arkansas and holds a master’s degree in Museum and Exhibition Studies from the University of Illinois Chicago. Rachel has supported the production of exhibitions at the South Side Community Art Center, Gallery 400, and the Hyde Park Art Center; her writing has been featured in the Chicago Reader, Sixty Inches From Center, and New City. A passionate advocate for community centered arts programing, Rachel also serves as a board member for Chicago Tap Theatre.
Headshot credit: Reagan Dukes
Image: Installation view, Beyond Frames: Black Women Collectors Shaping Cultural Heritage in Chicago, 2025, South Side Community Art Center; Image credit: Lennell Davis