Ron Lynn Richardson Collection

Ron Lynn Richardson was born in 1954 in the Near West Side of Chicago to Shirley Abrams, a jazz singer, and Robert Richardson, a calypso dancer. By the time he started elementary school, Richardson was living in the Cabrini-Green housing project. He was recognized as an exceptionally bright student and would later attend Lane Tech College Prep High School, a selective enrollment school considered one of the best in the state. However, by the time Richardson started college he had difficulty finding a place where he felt he belonged, transferring from one school to another and becoming quite depressed. One day, while walking aimlessly in downtown Chicago, he wandered into a lecture filmmaker Stan Brakhage was giving at the Art Institute of Chicago on the history of experimental film. Richardson was mesmerized by the lecture, considering it a life changing experience. He would go on to enroll at the School of the Art Institute where developed into an experimental filmmaker and graduated with an MFA. From there he went on to teach at Chicago Public Schools, DePaul University, the City Colleges of Chicago, Northwestern University, and the Art Institute. During his time teaching he married and raised two daughters.

Over the years Richardson’s films have screened at Chicago Filmmakers, the Dank Haus German American Cultural Center, and the Chicago Cultural Center.