50 States of Public Art: Chicago’s quest to become America’s street art capital
Street mural by Hebru Brantley. An earlier version of this mural was one of several street art murals painted over by city workers who mistook them for graffiti. A proposed city ordinance would create a registry to help city workers distinguish between commissioned and/or sanctioned street art pieces and random acts of graffiti. (Photo source: Chris Walker/Chicago Tribune)
I have no doubt that its thriving public art scene is one of the reasons Chicago, Illinois won top honors in Condé Nast Traveler’s Best Cities in the U.S.: 2018 Readers’ Choice Awards this past week. I mean, there’s a Picasso in Richard Daley Civic Center Plaza in downtown, for heaven’s sake. But Chicago isn’t resting on its public art laurels. Recently, Chicago-based reader Sharon M. emailed to tell me that Chicago has set its sights on becoming the street art capital of America as well.
Chicago’s quest to become America’s street art capital
Artist: Hebru Brantley
Location: Wood Street and Milwaukee Avenue
Photo Source: Chris Walker/Chicago Tribune
Associated Public Art Project:
As part of its bid to attract Amazon’s second headquarters, Chicago instructed its city workers to clear the streets of graffiti. The problem? Workers misidentified several commissioned street art murals as graffiti and blasted them away too.
One of the accidentally destroyed art works was a mural Cards Against Humanity founder Max Temkin had commissioned from French street artist Blek le Rat. The destruction of a commissioned piece on his own building led Temkin to work with Chicago Alderman Brian Hopkins and Cultural Affairs Commissioner Mark Kelly to find a way to protect street art across the city.
The result is a proposal for a registry to distinguish street art from unwanted graffiti. In addition to registering their commissioned works with the city, building owners would place a physical marker next to the art on their building.
There would be a fee associated with the program of course.
Still, supporters of the proposed city ordinance hope that having an official registry will not only protect street art, but also make Chicago an attractive destination for people who want to experience a thriving street art community for themselves.
As far as I can tell, the proposed ordinance that would create the registry is still winding its way through Chicago’s city government.
Want to see Brantley’s mural for yourself?
You can find Hebru Brantley’s mural at Wood Street and Milwaukee Avenue in Wicker Park. According to Cultural Commissioner Mark Kelly, there are some 2,000 street murals painted around Chicago, so you know, there’s no reason to stop at just one.
Want to go, but need help selling it to your kids?
The fact that public art is installed in public spaces creates all sorts of opportunities for family fun. Pack a picnic lunch, and pair the outing with a trip to a nearby park or playground. If you have one, consider bringing your dog.
Don’t have time for a full-fledged outing? Challenge your kids to keep their eyes open while you are out and about doing something else. I bet they (or you) will spot something interesting on your next walk, bike ride, or errand run.
My book, What’s That, Mom?: How to use public art to engage your children with the world around them… without being an artist yourself, is full of tips like these for making public art sightings fun for your entire family.
What’s That, Mom? provides 15 accessible, practical strategies for using public art to spark conversations with children between the ages of 3 and 10 — no artistic talent or insight required. What’s That, Mom? is available at Bookshop.org and Amazon. There’s even a journal to go with it so that your kids can sketch their favorite works of art and you can record your favorite moments from your outing.
NOTE: The above paragraph contains affiliate links to Bookshop.org, an online bookstore that provides financial support to local, independent bookstores. At the time I wrote this post, Bookshop.org had already raised $12.8m for local bookstores. If you use the link in the previous paragraph to purchase my book on Bookshop.org, I’ll earn a commission on your book purchase, as will your preferred independent bookshop. You can also find my book in the new Caterpickles Bookstore. Regardless of whether you use my links or visit the Caterpickles Bookstore, thank you for spending part of your day reading Caterpickles. Learn more about Affiliate Links, the Caterpickles Bookstore, and why I decided to become a Bookshop.org Affiliate.
Happy public art hunting!
Related Links:
- Condé Nast Traveler‘s Best Cities in the U.S.: 2018 Readers’ Choice Awards (Conde Nast Traveler)
- Cards Against Humanity backs plan to save murals, make Chicago America’s street art capital (Chicago Tribune)
- Graffiti cleanup ‘blitz’ in advance of Amazon visit wipes out street art at Cards Against Humanities HQ (Chicago Tribune)
- After “mistaking” murals for graffiti, Chicago considers public art registry (Repeating Islands)
- A compendium of posts on the The Dedham Public Art Project, the public art project that originally inspired my book on using public art to spark conversations with your children, What’s That, Mom? (Caterpickles)
- More Caterpickles posts on public art installations around the country
What are you thinking?