Latest news with #ChicagoMonumentsProject
Axios
30-05-2025
- Axios
Chicago artists work to preserve Black Lives Matter art
Black Lives Matter murals and public art were all over Chicago after George Floyd's murder in 2020, but five years later, it can be difficult to find some of those works. Why it matters: The protests against police brutality were an inflection point in a city with a complicated history of policing. Artists expressing their feelings about that moment and the larger social justice movement was natural in a city known for its public art. Flashback: As protests wove through Chicago neighborhoods in the summer of 2020, Paint the City founders Missy Perkins and Barrett Keithley connected artists with businesses who wanted to show their support for Black Lives Matter. "It was just a thing where we just couldn't sit back and kind of watch this happen and not do something. We were obviously both feeling like, 'What kind of action can we take?'" Perkins tells Axios. "We know so many artists from all over the place that could go out and create these inspiring murals as a way to help people or as a way to engage in a conversation." Perkins says the group created hundreds of artistic boards across the city. Yes, but: All of those boards are not currently on display to the public. Many were shown in the 2021 exhibition "Resilient Voices," at the DuSable Museum in Washington Park, but Perkins says they're now in storage in need of restoration and a permanent home. Paint the City is exploring funding avenues to make that happen. State of play: Other groups, including the Sounding Boards Garden initiative, created displays that are still open to the public. In a lot behind Harmony Community Church in North Lawndale sits an outdoor gallery of colorful painted boards, including a portrait of Floyd, a large fist with the phrase "Power to the People," and a black cherub wearing boxing gloves and floating in space. Zoom out: George Floyd Square in Minneapolis, where police officer Derek Chauvin killed Floyd, is ensnared in a development battle about what to do with the streets around the memorial created after Floyd's death. Washington, D.C., has dismantled its Black Lives Matter Plaza for what Mayor Muriel Bowser said will instead become an area celebrating America's 250th birthday, which is in 2026. Context: Following the 2020 protests, activists also called for the dismantling of public art and monuments across the country, saying they reinforced white supremacy. Most notable in Chicago was the removal of two Christopher Columbus statues, one of which the city plans to loan to the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans. The city created the Chicago Monuments Project to determine what to do with the other controversial public art. Reality check: The group identified 41 objects that "privilege whiteness, social elites and the powerful above all other people" and recommended that several be placed in storage, but none have been, CBS reported this month.
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Christopher Columbus statue finds new home as Chicago Park District plans fresh start for Arrigo Park
The Brief The Chicago Park District reached a settlement over the 2020 removal of a Christopher Columbus statue from Arrigo Park. The statue will be loaned to a local Italian-American group for indoor display; it will not return to public park space. The Park District is launching a community process to select a new statue for Arrigo Park honoring Italian-American heritage. CHICAGO - After years of debate and legal battles, the Christopher Columbus statue removed from Chicago's Arrigo Park in 2020 will not return to its original location but will instead be relocated indoors. What we know The Chicago Park District announced Thursday it has reached a settlement with the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans (JCCIA) over the city's decision to remove the Columbus statue from Arrigo Park during the summer of 2020. That removal came during a wave of nationwide protests, some of which in Chicago turned confrontational, prompting the city to take down several Columbus statues for public safety. Under the terms of the agreement, the City of Chicago, which owns the statue, will loan it to the JCCIA. The organization plans to display it inside a redeveloped building it owns in the city. The Park District, in line with recommendations from the Chicago Monuments Project, will also remove the plinth that once held a Columbus statue in Grant Park. That will open up space for public access and allow new art installations in the future. What's next The Park District says it's beginning a public process to decide on a new statue for Arrigo Park—one that honors the contributions of Italian Americans to Chicago's history. That process will include community input sessions and a call for artists to submit qualifications. "The Chicago Park District is committed to diversifying our statuary to ensure we are honoring Chicago's rich history and diversity," said General Superintendent and CEO Rosa Ramirez-Rosa. The Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) will work alongside the Park District to manage the artist selection and community engagement. At Grant Park, officials plan to redesign the former Columbus statue area into a plaza that will host rotating public art. What we don't know Details about when the Columbus statue will go on display inside the JCCIA's building have not been shared. The Source The information in this article was provided by the Chicago Park District.
CBS News
02-05-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Chicago Park District to loan Columbus statue to Italian American group for museum, end lawsuit
The Chicago Park District said Thursday that it has reached a deal to end a lawsuit over the removal of Chicago's Christopher Columbus statues. The City of Chicago, which owns the statues, will not be bringing the statues back to their former sites in Grant Park and Arrigo Park. But the city will loan the statue that was removed from Arrigo Park, at Polk and Loomis streets in Little Italy, to the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans. The statue will be displayed inside a building in Chicago that the joint civic committee is redeveloping to be a museum. The museum is set to open in six months, Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans President Ron Onesti told CBS News Chicago. Meanwhile, the Columbus statue that once stood in Grant Park will not be back. The plinth that had anchored the statue will be removed, and a new process will determine what piece of public art will replace it. Rather than Columbus, an Italian American will be honored at Arrigo Park, according the Park District. Onesti said this statue would depict "a person of Italian descent such as Mother Cabrini." "The Chicago Park District is committed to diversifying our statuary to ensure we are honoring Chicago's rich history and diversity," said Chicago Park District Genera Supt. and Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ramirez-Rosa said in a news release. "To that end, we look forward to convening the process to determine which Italian American will be honored at Arrigo Park, and which artworks will replace the Grant Park plinth. Throughout these processes, we will continue to engage Chicago's diverse communities." Back in 2020, then-Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot had the Grant Park and Arrigo Park Columbus statues — and one more in South Chicago — taken down. For all the time since, Italian American groups in the city had been fighting to put them back. This came after a group of protesters clashed with police officers at the Christopher Columbus statue in Grant Park on July 17, 2020. Some of the protesters tried to wrap a rope around the statue and tear it down. A week later, the Grant Park Columbus statue was removed, to the cheers of people who said monuments to Columbus are insults to Indigenous Americans. The Columbus statue in Arrigo Park, and another one that was part of a fountain at 92nd Street and Exchange Avenue, followed soon afterward. In August 2022, a panel created by Mayor Lightfoot called the Chicago Monuments Project recommended that the three Columbus statues should be removed permanently — along with several other public monuments they deemed as "problematic" on the grounds that they honor white supremacy or disrespect Indigenous people. No other monuments have been removed in the years since. The choices to find a new public artwork for the Grant Park space is in accordance with the Chicago Monuments Project recommendations, the Park District said.
