MAKE Literary Productions, NFP announces Sofía Gabriel as their new Executive Director

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For Immediate Release
Photos available HERE

Media contact: Sofía Gabriel. director@makemag.org. 224 391 0439

(CHICAGO) September 16, 2025. MAKE Literary Productions, NFP is pleased to announce that Sofía Gabriel has succeeded Laurie Sartain as the new Executive Director. 

Originally from Mexico City and based in Chicago, Sofía Gabriel is an artist, curator, and producer with over a decade of experience in programming, curation, music and performance production, fundraising, communications, and community engagement.  She has collaborated with artists and organizations across Mexico and Chicago, including Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE), the Field Foundation, Hyde Park Jazz Festival, and many others. Gabriel has also worked with major institutions in Mexico, such as the Museo Nacional de Arte (MUNAL) and the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM).

In Sofía Gabriel’s words:

“Throughout my career, I’ve witnessed the extraordinary power that emerges when voices from different places, cultures, and perspectives come together. MAKE Lit’s commitment to cross-cultural dialogue today isn’t just timely, it’s vital.

I’m deeply inspired to join an organization that doesn’t just tell stories but builds bridges by connecting communities and nurturing artistic expression. At a time when so many are feeling silenced or afraid, MAKE Lit’s mission feels more urgent than ever.

It’s a true honor to step into this role and lead an organization that has long championed the kind of transformative work I believe in, and to do so alongside an incredible team.”

MAKE Lit supports, promotes, and engages contemporary writers, artists, and audiences through publishing, multidisciplinary arts events, and international cultural exchange between the US and Mexico. The organization produces the international Lit & Luz Festival of Language, Literature and Art.

The 12th annual Lit & Luz Festival of Language, Literature, and Art returns this fall to Chicago from November 9 to 14. This year’s festival, centered around the theme of “Repair/Reparar,” explores how writers, poets, and artists from Chicago and Mexico critically examine the artist’s role in impacting and offering new perspectives on what it takes to face and reimagine our shared realities.

Audiences can expect free, bilingual programs: author conversations; artist talks; poetry readings; live storytelling; music; and much more in venues across eight Chicago neighborhoods. We’re excited to announce two new Lit & Luz partners, the Hyde Park Art Center—host of a month-long international artist residency with Ana Hernández (Mexico) and the National Museum of Mexican Art—book club and visual artist program host. We’re also thrilled to bring our signature program, the Live Magazine Show back to the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago!

The week of events will begin on Sunday November 9 at Centro Romero’s Pueblo Unido Gallery with a keynote address from one of the U.S.’s most exciting authors and poets Marcelo Hernandez Castillo. The Live Magazine Show on Friday November 14 will feature performances from this year’s Collaboration Cohort including critically acclaimed artists and writers Maria Gaspar (Chicago), Stefania Gomez (Chicago), Magali Lara (Mexico) and Gabriela Damián Miravete as well as a musical performance by Damon Locks (Chicago). 

ABOUT Sofía Gabriel

Sofía Gabriel (b. 1991, Mexico City) is a Chicago-based artist, arts administrator, curator, and producer with over 12 years of experience in cultural management, arts administration, communications, and community engagement. She holds an MA in Arts Administration and Policy from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC).

Sofía has worked with artists and institutions across Mexico City and Chicago, including collaborations with Tania Candiani, Jorge Marín, Hyde Park Art Center, the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE), the Field Foundation of Illinois, Hyde Park Jazz Festival, SAIC, Gallery 400, Museo Nacional de Arte (INBA), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), and Museo Universitario de Arte Contemporáneo (MUAC).

Her curatorial practice includes exhibitions and performance festivals at High Concept Labs, Co-Prosperity Sphere, UNAM Chicago, SAIC Galleries, and Hyde Park Art Center, where she co-created and led The Bridge Performance Incubator, a professional development initiative for performance artists.

As a performance artist, she has presented her work at High Concept Labs, Experimental Station, Comfort Station, the National Museum of Mexican Art, Elastic Arts, and Compound Yellow in Chicago; Proyecto ‘ace in Buenos Aires, Argentina; and the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo y de las Culturas Oaxaqueñas in Oaxaca, Mexico.

Tell me more about this year's Lit & Luz Live Show! 

A Personal Note from Laurie Sartain, Outgoing Executive Director

Dear MAKE Lit Community,

As Sofía Gabriel steps into her role as MAKE Lit's new Executive Director, I want to take a moment to reflect on this transformational year and express my deep gratitude to everyone who has made our growth possible.

This past year has been remarkable for MAKE Lit. We launched our new podcast series, wonderfully produced by Roy Sierra, which features compelling interviews with artists and writers from our ever-growing community of over 100 alumni. We've strengthened partnerships and deepened our community roots in Chicago and Mexico City. We've also grown our team, expanding our capacity to continue producing cross-cultural programming that connects communities at a time when it is more important than ever.

None of this would have been possible without our incredible team. I am profoundly grateful to our amazing staff: John Bateman, Frances Lee, Zespo, Esteban King, Laura Martínez Terrazas, Shelby Edwards, Kost, Mario Gastelum, Angelica Davila and Corrine Zahra, who have brought passion, collaboration, and dedication to every project. To our Board of Directors, and especially our new Board Chair, Kamilah Foreman, thank you for your strategic vision and unwavering support. A very special thanks to our Founder and Advisor, Sarah Dodson for her visionary leadership and guidance in furthering our mission. And to our volunteers and donors, who give so generously to support and sustain the work we do: thank you for making all of this possible over our 18 year history.

As I transition out of the Executive Director role, I am filled with excitement for what lies ahead under Sofía's leadership. Her experience with cultural institutions across Mexico and Chicago, combined with her deep connections within Latinx artistic communities and her background as a curator, producer, and artist, makes her uniquely qualified to lead MAKE Lit into our next chapter leading into our third decade.

I look forward to watching MAKE Lit continue to flourish under Sofía's direction, and I'm grateful for the opportunity I've had to serve this incredible organization and community.

With deepest gratitude and excitement for what's to come,
Laurie