Jack C. Newell and Vinod Havalad's Wabash Lights (2024) Photo: Courtesy Gertie
Fresh off the news that the Democratic National Convention in Chicago (19-22 August) could turn out to be more eventful than we might have expected, a series of public art projects will launch that same week under the theme of infrastructure inequality—just in time for the Windy City’s inevitable street closures and motorcades.
Next Stop: Chicago is a project of the local civic and cultural agency Gertie, founded by Abby Pucker, a member of the prominent Pritzker family. (In an interesting twist, Pucker's cousin J.B. Pritzker is the governor of Illinois and may well be chosen as Kamala Harris's vice president—possibly during the convention.) Gertie provided grants of between $10,000 and $80,000 each to seven community-based organisations in Chicago. In turn, they created their own public art projects, with a focus on the importance of infrastructure and “third spaces” for historically marginalised communities in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Gertie organised Next Stop: Chicago to amplify artist and community voices spanning Chicago’s vast network of neighbourhoods at this historic political moment, when there is a global spotlight on the city,” Pucker said in a statement. “Next Stop: Chicago is designed to highlight the important intersection of infrastructure and the arts through installations and programmes that address resource allocation and infrastructure inequity—an issue that has disproportionately impacted Black and brown people in this city. This problem won’t be solved with a one-size-fits-all approach, and requires collaboration and creativity across sectors to ensure our city thrives at its highest level.”
Projects include a “living sculpture” by Englewood Arts Collective, a couple of community arts festivals, a series of murals with a programme of events attached, a 50-ft-long interactive light installation by the artists Jack C. Newell and Vinod Havalad, an exhibition of works by the artist Seed Lynn and a pop-up outdoor gathering space with furniture, snacks, card and board games and a sound sculpture by the artists ebere agwuncha and Josué Esaú. In addition, For Freedoms will create six billboards to mark the sites.
New funding for public art in US cities seems to be all over the news this month. Some of the larger projects recently announced include monumental works (by Charles Gaines, Refik Anadol and others) for the LA Clippers’ new arena, and upcoming public art by the likes of Hank Willis Thomas, Tania Bruguera and Victor Quiñonez as part of Boston’s biggest investment in public art to date.
