Pre-Existing Conditions, a special project of Artists for Action Chicago

Click here to checkout Pre-Existing Conditions

Pre-Existing shares the faces and stories of those with pre-existing conditions. Pre-existing conditions are not just a black and white list of what healthcare plans would rather not cover. They are the conditions of your friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers. There continues to be harmful rhetoric that "people who lead good lives" don't have pre-existing conditions. In reality, pre-existing conditions come in all shapes and sizes. Many are born with them through hereditary conditions. Many are diagnosed as children. We put this series together as we believe that those with PEC have a right to affordable health care.

Our goal is to personalize the healthcare debate by showing the impact on individual people of covering pre-existing conditions. We are reaching out to individuals and groups to partner with us on this project. We aim to have portraits represent the wide diversity of our society.  We post these portraits on our website and intend to both exhibit the work and publish a book of these portraits with proceeds going to organizations fighting for healthcare for all.

We met individuals at a location of their choice and took their portrait. Then, the individual wrote up a short statement about their pre-existing condition. If you would like to participate in the project, please contact either of us. 

Nelson Armour, 847.372.0734, [email protected]

Michael Kreuser, 312.952.78, [email protected]

Artists for Action Chicago: We are a group of Chicago area artists that stand for progressive values that advance humanity and protect the environment. Our intention is to use our art to witness, communicate, and advocate on issues of social justice. Since January 2017 we have photographed over 40 rallies, marches, and demonstrations.