New Chicago is the name for something that's already happening: a new generation of artists, brand owners, designers, photographers, videographers, and platforms reshaping what Chicago stands for, culturally and creatively.

It's not a label handed down from the top, it's a recognition of a shift already underway in the city's underground music and creative scenes, led by people in their teens and twenties who are building their own platforms instead of waiting for permission from the old ones.

Who's part of it: New Chicago isn't one person, one brand, or one event — it's a loose, growing network of artists, creatives, and entrepreneurs who are releasing music and building audiences independently, without waiting on traditional label or industry gatekeepers, buailding their own platforms, media companies, brands, and businesses. As well as connecting with each other directly, creating a real community instead of a scattered scene.

George Pareti has become one of the central documentarians and connectors of the New Chicago movement, interviewing its artists, covering its events, and building the media infrastructure. Jah Pool (another Chicago based creative) formed New Chicago; George’s work is more in capturing it, naming it, and helping it grow.

Why it matters: Every cultural movement needs someone documenting it in real time, before it gets written into history by people who weren't there. New Chicago is being built by the artists and creators living it right now, and ForTheYouth exists to make sure that story gets told accurately, as it happens.