Nick Brown Artist & Placemaker

Nick Brown (born in Chicago, Illinois) is an African-American contemporary artist, placemaker, and creative entrepreneur. He is known for integrating traditional painting techniques with generative artificial intelligence^[1], transforming underutilized spaces into immersive public environments, and attracting hundreds to his signature one-day only art shows. His multidisciplinary work addresses social, cultural, and intellectual themes. Brown is also the founder of Glappit, a platform focused on creative placemaking and community-driven experiences across the United States^[2]. With almost 20 years of integrated marketing experience, he has united thousands in-person and millions online. Nick is the go-to-guy for building communities, movements, brands, and experiences targeting cultural and millennial audiences.

He is also the brother of former NFL player Sergio Brown, who pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and concealment of a dead body, of their mother, Myrtle Brown, in 2023^[3].

Early life and education

Brown was raised in Maywood, Illinois, the son of Mario Brown, the first African American basketball player at Texas A&M University^[4], and Myrtle Brown, a USPS executive. Nick attended Proviso East High School, where he was a standout athlete in track and field, two-time state champion^[5], #1 in the Long Jump^[6] in the US and #4 in Triple Jump ^[7] in the US (moved to #3 due to consistent top performances) by Track and Field news, the USA Jr. National Long Jump Champion in 2004^[8] but did not compete for team USA for World Junior Championships in Athletics in Italy with other members such as Allyson Felix, Galen Rupp, and Kerron Clemet. He was active in student leadership and extracurricular activities, including serving as drum major and class council president.

Brown earned both a Bachelor’s and Master’s of Architecture from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where he was a two-time All-American track and field athlete^[9], Big Ten Runner Up and an Earl Prize design nominee. In 2020, he completed Stanford University’s Code in Place unaccredited program, developing a generative algorithm turning technology into abstract art with a financial value attached to the work called Vart, which stands for “value your art.”

Painting

Brown began painting in 2014 and began publicly exhibiting his work in 2023 after the death of his mother. His art combines abstract techniques with digital tools such as artificial intelligence and often explores themes of loss, identity, and transformation. His work has been shown at venues such as Porsche Chicago, Bella Fine Art Gallery in Scottsdale, The Golden Triangle Chicago, mHUB Chicago, Neiman Marcus Chicago and the Ogilvie Transportation Center in Chicago.

Placemaking

In 2013, Brown founded Glappit, a placemaking and experiential destination creation programming company. Through Glappit and its flagship platform, Glappitnova^{[10] [11] [12] [13] [14]}, he has produced events and cultural activations featuring almost 1000 creatives, entrepreneurs, athletes, and public figures. Notable past participants have included technologist Harper Reed, 3x NYC Best Selling author Luvvie Ajayi Jones, Former Chief Diversity Officer of The White House Michael Leach, Miss America Erika Harold, CBS’s Big Brother Winner Andy Harren, 3x Olympian Race Embolden, Miss California Crystal Lee and more. “Nick Brown can’t be the voice of his generation-the world’s given that title to Lena Dunham” according to Crain’s Chicago Business^[15] on Nick’s multi-city millennial-focused Glappitnova program.

In 2017 the Glapptinova program expanded with mentorship, controversial programing from panels like “The Dark Side of Entrepreneurship” to “Reality vs. Reality TV” with an all panel of ABC The Bachelorette and The Bachelor contestants sharing their experiences behind the camera,^[16] and started recommending candidates for Crain’s 20 In Their 20s. “It’s awesome that she (Zim Ugochukwu, Founder, Travelnoire) has been able to create that community from scratch and build it into a global powerhouse,” says Chicago entrepreneur Nick Brown, who founded conference organizing firm Glappit.” ^{[17] [18] [19] [20] [21]}

With the expansion of the Glappitnova global committee^[22] with professionals like Architect Germane Barnes Miami based, to Olympian Nikkita Holder Toronto based, the program pivoted to a month-long virtual festival during the start of Covid-19. Brown added a consulting arm to help cities and organizations develop programs and strategies to attract millennials. He also educates Small Businesses, Executives, and the elderly how to implement Artificial Intelligence, new tools, social media and emerging technologies into their workflows to become more efficient and effective with their marketing and operations.  

Prior to Glappit, Nick worked in construction management, events, and marketing from the Nike World Basketball Festival in Chicago to helping build one of the largest online educational platforms for photography and photoshop. In college, he built Young and Powerful which was a viral Facebook networking group with a few thousand members full of student and student-athlete representatives from MIT to UCLA sharing job opportunities and work-related insights. This became the foundation for Glappitnova years later. He is also a mentor to select group of emerging executives, talented creatives, cultural leaders, and a few former athletes. 

Art Galleries

• Bella Fine Art, Scottsdale Arizona 

Art Shows

• Demo Demo Day Group Show & Curator, Porsche Chicago, 2025
• Inthewild, Solo Show, Porsche Downtown Chicago, 2024
• Someday, Solo Show Cine City Studios, 2024
• Sugar Mama, Solo Show, We All Live Here, 2023

 

AWARDS

• EIR Innovation Finalist, VF Corp 2021
• 35 U 35 Un-Tied Gala Recipients, Chicago Scholars Foundation 2014
• Earl Prize Design Nomination, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 2009

 

SELECTED ENGAGEMENTS

• WPP Stream 2022, Speaker
• TechChicago Week 2022, Moderator
• Leading for Good, Loyola University 2022, Speaker
• University of Illinois-UC, College of FAA 2019, Speaker
• Art of Matter Live UIUC, 2018, Speaker
• Chicago Filmmakers 2016, Judge
• 50 on Fire Chicago 2016 & 2015 Inno, Judge
• Coalesce Chicago 2015, Mentor
• Code 2040 2015, Mentor
• The Wabash Lights 2015, Advisory Board
• Techweek Chicago 2015, Judge
• Apple Store Chicago 2014, Speaker

 

 

 

 

Sources

1. Lowe, Mike (Feb 4, 2025). “Artificial Intelligence, real-life impact: How artist Nick Brown turns personal trials into creative triumphs”. WGNTV.
2.  “Videos”. FOX 32 Chicago. 2020-09-16.
3. Wild, Whitney (2023-12-07). “Former NFL player Sergio Brown pleads not guilty to murder in his mother’s death”. CNN.
4. “Brown Dies of Cancer at Age 51”. Texas A&M Athletics – 12thMan.com.
5. “Illinois – DyeStat high school track and field and cross country”. archive.dyestat.com.
6. “T&FN Boys Long Jump All-Americas”. Track & Field News.
7. “T&FN Boys Triple Jump All-Americas”. Track & Field News.
8. Flipsnack. “USATF U20 Outdoor Champions”. Flipsnack.
9. Murray, Troy (2006-12-05). “Illini track star Nick Brown perseveres amid tragedies”. The Daily Illini.
10. Macarthur, Kate (2015-04-07). “Glappitnova and a founder’s vision of storytellers and investors”. Chicago Tribune.
11. “Fashion startups Trunk Club, BucketFeet make brick-and-mortar moves”. Crain’s Chicago Business. 2014-07-17.
12. www.bizjournals.com https://www.bizjournals.com/chicago/inno/stories/news/2015/07/14/at-glappitnova-the-education-community-debates.html.
13. Carpenter, John (2015-07-09). “Glappitnova’s ‘roller coaster’ for brain, body takes off Thursday”. Chicago Tribune.
14. Levine, Macklin (2017-10-27). “Founders and investors dig into Chicago’s deal scene at Fund Conference”. Chicago Tribune.
15. “The man behind Glappitnova wants to get millennials talking”. Crain’s Chicago Business. 2017-09-09.
16. Jackson, Cheryl V. (2017-07-11). “Glappitnova adds mentoring, gets spontaneous with 2017 festival”. Chicago Tribune.
17. “See why @zimism of @travelnoire is one of @crainschicago #Crain20s”. Crain’s Chicago Business.
18. “See why @VeronicaSApplet of We Are Unlimited is one of @crainschicago #Crain20s”. Crain’s Chicago Business.
19. “See why Dan Klein of @TiestaTea is one of @crainschicago #Crain20s”. Crain’s Chicago Business.
20. “See why @AshNicoleSpeaks of @McDermottLaw is one of @crainschicago #Crain20s”. Crain’s Chicago Business.
21. “See why @eramel606 of Farpoint Development is one of @crainschicago #Crain20s”. Crain’s Chicago Business.
22. “Blavity Is Home: A Reflection From Our First Creative Director – Blavity”. Blavity News & Entertainmet