Tina Fakhrid-Deen recognized as a playwright, educator and community builder.
Des Plaines, Ill. (Sept. 30, 2026) — Whether she is in an Oakton College classroom or bringing a new play to the stage, Tina Fakhrid-Deen uses storytelling to create space for witnessing, reckoning, reparation, freedom and transformation. Now, the Oakton Distinguished Professor of English is one of 10 Chicago-area artists selected to receive a 2026 3Arts Award.
“I am so thankful to 3Arts and the SIF Fund at the Chicago Community Trust for this extraordinary award, and I am thankful for my village because I didn’t get here on my own,” said Fakhrid-Deen. “As I have tried to pour into my students, many people have poured into me. I hope to continue paying it forward as an educator and keep making resonant art.”
3Arts is a Chicago-based nonprofit organization that supports artists working in the performing, teaching and visual arts through unrestricted awards, project funding, residencies, professional development and other career-building opportunities. Each 3Arts Award recipient receives an unrestricted $30,000 award to support their life and creative practice.
Award recipients are selected through a competitive nomination and jury process. More than 100 artists are nominated annually before national, discipline-specific panels select 10 recipients.
Fakhrid-Deen’s creative practice spans theater, teaching, writing and community building. Her work explores identity, belonging and liberation while celebrating the imagination, cultural wealth and possibilities within Black communities."
At Oakton, Fakhrid-Deen draws on her experiences as a playwright, author and artist, encouraging students to engage deeply with stories, ideas and one another. She also teaches at Sheridan Correctional Center through Oakton’s partnership with Northwestern University and the Illinois Department of Corrections, helping expand access to higher education for incarcerated students.
Her commitment to students has been recognized with Oakton’s Ray Hartstein Award for Outstanding Professional Excellence in Teaching and the American Association for Women in Community Colleges Award of Distinction for her service to the College and community.
Beyond the College, Fakhrid-Deen creates work that invites dialogue and reflection while examining how individuals and communities confront difficult histories, experience joy and imagine more just futures.
Her recent theatrical work includes “Squat,” which premiered at MPAACT in 2026, and “Black Bone,” which premiered at Definition Theatre in 2025. Her play “Pulled Punches” received a Jeff Award, while “Dandelions” received a Jeff Award nomination. Her other works include “Powerless Gods,” “Snow Black,” and “Sankofa: A Journey into Bronzeville’s Poppin’ Past.”
Fakhrid-Deen’s work as an artist and educator has also been recognized through fellowships and residencies with organizations including The Studios of Key West, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, the Fulbright-Hays Program, MacDowell, Kimbilio for Black Fiction and the Voices of Our Nations Arts Foundation.
Community has long been central to Fakhrid-Deen’s work. She founded the Chicago chapter of COLAGE, an experience that inspired her book, “Let’s Get This Straight: The Ultimate Handbook for Youth with LGBTQ Parents.” She later founded The Butterfly Circle and Play.Write.Space, writing communities designed to foster artistic growth, accountability and belonging among writers and other creatives.