Temporary Public Art Presented at Boys and Girls Club Uptown

Some happy news from a press release received today:

Come out and take a look!

Sheridan Road Task Force, Temporary Public Art Committee is proud to present “Temporary Spice.” “Temporary Spice” is an outdoor art installation located on the southern façade of the Robert R. McCormick Boys and Girls Club at 4835 N. Sheridan Road (1 block north of Lawrence/Sheridan intersection) Chicago, IL. 60640.

This project, the first in a proposed series, was developed by members of Uptown community and was implemented in collaboration with The Boys and Girls Club. Club students decided the design and made the work as a part of their summer arts programming.

The piece responds to a question posed in last summer’s design workshops In A New Light: What Makes A Neighborhood Well? Participants indicated that 'diversity', 'inclusiveness' and 'getting to know each other' makes a neighborhood well. Participating community members also picked 'making connections' and 'educational opportunities' as supporting themes.

Using these themes, the workshop group formed to implement the “Temporary Spice” project by collecting the fabric material used from the community, organizing volunteers to prepare 3500 pieces of fabric and inviting volunteer staff that taught 6 weeks of summer arts program at the Boys and Girls Club. Between the workshops, donors, volunteers, 46th Ward Aldermanic staff, 48th Ward Aldermanic staff, and Boys and Girls Club staff, more than 30 people have been involved in making this project possible. As a community, we are very thankful to all of the contributors. Through this project as community members, we have been able to meet and get to know our neighbors better, get involved with many neighborhood events, make connections as well as offer educational opportunities.

Temporary Public Art Committee is currently planning another workshop series late Fall 2011 for another round of temporary public art projects to be installed Summer 2012. Please contact us at temporarypublicartuptown@gmail.com if you would like to participate in future projects.