"SPC in Chicago's Neighborhoods" panel discussion

Wednesday, August 12, 2009 (6-8 p.m.)
Hyde Park Art Center

You are invited to attend an event during which Annie Heckman, Carol Ng-He,
James Jankowiak, Sarah Bendix, and Daniel Godston talk about connections with Chicago’s neighborhoods -- as they relate to The Synesthetic Plan of Chicago. Carol will focus on ways by which her installation piece, entitled “C(l/r)aving,” relates to Chinatown. James will talk about his installation piece, entitled “Bubbly Creek,” relates to the Back of the Yards, Bridgeport, and McKinley Park areas. Annie and Daniel will talk about other ways by which SPC relates to Chicago’s neighborhoods, including how SPC modules have been traveling to “satellite locations,” including the Hyde Park Art Center, Mess Hall, Faie African Art Gallery, Little Black Pearl Art & Design Center, Myopic Books, and other Chicago locations. This event is free and open to the public.

THE SYNESTHETIC PLAN OF CHICAGO:
2009 is the centenary of the publication of The Plan of Chicago. The Synesthetic Plan of Chicago: A Multi-Sensory Journey Through Chicago and Its Neighborhoods corresponds with the celebration of this historic event. An interactive installation at the Chicago Cultural Center Visitor Information Center (77 E. Randolph Street), The Synesthetic Plan of Chicago is part of the citywide summer tourism initiative, Explore Chicago: Take A Neighborhood Vacation (June 1–September 30). More than 40 artists and organizations have joined in creating this exploration of Chicago through the five senses. Visitors and locals can experience Chicago imagery, sounds, fragrances, flavors and textures captured in miniature neighborhood scenes such as a mapping of the tastes and recipes of Chinatown, and an exploration of East Garfield Park candy. SPC’s participating artists and organizations have designed installation pieces which invite people to interact with the sensory “artifacts” of Chicago in creative and imaginative ways, and to think about synesthetic connections with things that relate to Chicago. The Synesthetic Plan of Chicago is commissioned by the City of Chicago, and it is co-curated by Annie Heckman and Daniel Godston.

Explore Chicago: Take A Neighborhood Vacation showcases the city’s famous enclaves through over 100 insider events and activities including this special exhibition. Presented in collaboration with Chicago cultural and neighborhood organizations, the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, Chicago Office of Tourism and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, Bureau of Tourism.

Hyde Park Art Center
5020 S. Cornell Ave.
Chicago, IL 60615
773.324.5520

Open Streets -- August 1st

Open Streets happens tomorrow. Here's a video about Open Streets. Ciclovia (Bogota, Colombia) is one source of inspiration for Open Streets.

from the Active Transportation Alliance website:
See what it’s like when streets are filled with people and the street becomes your playground.

From 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Aug 1, Open Streets will give friends and families the chance to enjoy the streets the way they want: biking, dancing, playing, walking and more!

The free event combines last year’s two Sunday Parkways event into one huge eight-mile event. Like last year, Open Streets will span from Logan Square to Little Village, passing through Humboldt Park, North Lawndale and Garfield Park along the way.

There is no event registration, and participants can join in at any point along the route.

Take a step off the route at any of the community-run activities. The lively scenes will display each community’s flavor with performances, children’s games, art activities, workout classes, music and much more.

Soundwalks in East Garfield Park

EVENT: Soundwalks in East Garfield Park -- at the Chicago Center for Green Technology and the Garfield Park Conservatory

WHEN: Saturday, August 1, 2009 (10 a.m.-12 noon)

LOCATIONS:
Chicago Center for Green Technology (10:00-10:50 a.m., 1st location)
445 N. Sacramento Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60612
312.746.9642, greentech@cityofchicago.org

Garfield Park Conservatory (11:15 a.m.-12:00 noon, 2nd location)
300 N Central Park Ave
Chicago, IL 60624-1996
312.746.5100

You are invited to join the World Listening Project, during two soundwalks which happen in Chicago’s East Garfield Park neighborhood on Saturday, August 1. During a soundwalk, people explore their soundscape, using a score as a guide. These soundwalks are being facilitated by Dan Godston and Fereshte Toosi; they are free and open to the public, all ages.

We meet at CCGT at 10 a.m. for a brief tour of the premises, then the soundwalk starts. This soundwalk, which is being co-organized by WLP and CCGT, happens inside and outside the building -- through the Resource Center, on the CCGT roof, past the rain cisterns, through the “Elementhouse” designed by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for the Solar Decathlon, to the eastern part of the property where they keep the solar berm and green roof test plots, and along a path in the field to the south of the CCGT building.

Then we travel to the Garfield Park Conservatory, where we reconvene. The soundwalk there starts at 11:15, and it happens inside and outside of GPC – through the Palm Room and the Show House, into the Monet Garden, to the labyrinth, by the beehives, and over the lily pool. (The beekeepers open the beehives on Saturdays for a few hours.)

THE WORLD LISTENING PROJECT (WLP) is a not-for-profit organization devoted to understanding the world and its natural environment, societies and cultures through the practices of listening and field recording. WLP maintains and develops a repository of sound recordings and provides access to this information via web-based technologies, workshops, forums, lectures, and festivals. WLP hereby seeks to encourage worldwide opportunities for collaboration, education, curation, research and experimentation across the disciplines of the arts, humanities, and the social and natural sciences.

THE CENTER FOR GREEN TECHNOLOGY is the first rehabilitated municipal building in the nation to receive the LEED™ Platinum rating by the U.S. Green Building Council. Mayor Richard M. Daley dedicated the building in 2002 and it has gone on to become a national model for sustainable design and technology.
The Center serves as the most comprehensive green design educational resource in the Midwest. We promote and advance sustainable homes, workplaces and communities to enhance the quality of urban life. We work to facilitate this through educational programming and training, research and demonstration and by acting as a resource network.

THE GARFIELD PARK CONSERVATORY ALLIANCE, a non-profit organization, strengthens community through the unique combination of the Garfield Park Conservatory Campus, other botanical resources, and the engagement of community members.
With its innovative programs, the Alliance enhances the environmental, social and economic vitality of Chicago’s West Side and encourages the larger community to explore the fundamental connection between plants and life. Membership in the Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance supports one of Chicago's great botanical resources.


photo of a rabbit sitting on a solar berm, behind CCGT


"Elementhouse" designed by University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Behind the Chicago Center for Green Technology.

additional links:
Midwest Society for Acoustic Ecology
World Soundscape Project
Chicago Phonography

"The Arts on Chicago's South Side" panel discussion -- Thu., July 23 (7-9 p.m.)

You are invited to attend an event during which Felicia Grant Preston, Timuel Black, and Patrick McCoy talk about the arts on Chicago’s South Side. Timuel Black will focus on Bronzeville -- an historical perspective, and what’s happening in Bronzeville now; Felicia Grant Preston will talk about the Sapphire and Crystals group and her artistic contributions to “The Synesthetic Plan of Chicago,” which include 3D miniatures of significant landmarks in Bronzeville; and Patrick McCoy will talk about Chicago’s South Side art scene, a collectors perspective. This event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be provided, donations appreciated.

Felicia Grant Preston is an artist and educator, and she is the founder of the Sapphire and Crystals group; Timuel Black is Bronzeville’s historian; and Patrick McCoy is founder of the Diaspora Rhythms Collectors Group.

Faie African Art Gallery
4317 S. Cottage Grove Ave.
Chicago, IL 60653
773.268.2889