Hazel Crest Open Lands: “Art in the Woods” Placemaking Project

One Resident's Story- by William G. Hill

Hazel Crest Open Lands: “Art in the Woods” Placemaking Project

The Hazel Crest Open Lands "Art in the Woods" placemaking project is an exciting initiative to transform our community's landscape by integrating art with nature. This project strives to engage residents at every step, inviting them to participate in both the design and installation of a captivating collection of sculptures. These artworks will serve as visual focal points and catalysts for connection during community gatherings.

Each sculpture will be carefully crafted to embody the unique character of our local Arboretum, skillfully incorporating elements that highlight the area’s stunning natural beauty, rich cultural heritage, and shared community values. The designs will take inspiration from the vibrant flora and fauna of the region and significant historical and cultural narratives that resonate with the residents.

Karl Persons and William G. Hill

Over the past three years, the Hazel Crest Open Lands Area has achieved significant milestones, culminating in its esteemed Level II Accreditation. Guided by the Open Lands Committee, the mission is to transform the sprawling fifty-three (53) acres along Kedzie Avenue, situated between 171st Street and the I-80 interstate, from an overgrown, invasive brush-choked wilderness into a vibrant and inviting woodland that enhances the quality of life for residents and serves as a valuable community asset.

Hazel Crest Open Lands Area

The Open Lands Beautification Commission is evolving beyond its initial focus on physical transformation. In recent years, it has expanded its programming to include educational presentations and invited guest speakers at Commission meetings, fostering a deeper understanding of environmental stewardship. Additionally, the Commission has embraced the rich diversity of cultures within the community and actively engaged in innovative Climate Change Projects in collaboration with the U.S. Forest Service and Morton Arboretum.

Their efforts have not been limited to reforestation; the Commission has meticulously labeled hundreds of trees and diligently identified and cataloged various species, contributing to a comprehensive understanding of the local ecosystem. This multifaceted approach beautifies the area and educates and unites residents, reinforcing the importance of environmental conservation and community involvement.

The committee has creatively enhanced fire hydrants that were initially used as placeholders during the early stages of housing development in the picturesque Open Lands. They have skillfully transformed unsightly tree stumps along the winding pathways into inviting seating areas, providing rest stops for passersby. Large boulders now elegantly cover manhole covers, ensuring public safety and adding natural beauty to the surroundings.

In addition to these improvements, the Open Lands Committee hosts a delightful annual tree-lighting event each December, bringing the community together to celebrate the holiday spirit. They also organize community planting days, inviting residents to join in the effort to beautify the woodland areas with vibrant flowers. These activities highlight and enhance the area’s natural splendor, fostering a deeper connection between the community and the environment.

As the Arboretum evolves with an increasingly diverse collection of trees, we envision that the introduction of new artistic installations will enrich the landscape, creating captivating spaces for visitors to explore. This enhancement will not only beautify the area but also provide vital green spaces that support the mental and physical well-being of our community. Those who engage in the process of placemaking and take on the role of stewards will foster a vibrant environment that encourages connection, relaxation, and appreciation of nature.

Presentation Gathering Space entrance to the Open Lands

Work with the Homewood-Flossmoor High School Science Department, Hillcrest High School, and Grammar School Districts 144 and 152 ½ to augment the students’ classroom education.
Develop a brochure to promote the Open Lands to the education staff of the local schools.
Providing an outdoor classroom for the students will bring some realism and hands-on experiences to their education.

Alpha Bruton

Alpha Bruton is the Chief Curator at Phantom Gallery Chicago Network, a project that connects artists with temporary installation spaces. She aims to examine the current changes in curatorial production and develop innovative displays concerning virtual spaces. "Curatorial Practice" explores the impact of the urban environment on the artist and their work and the contributions that artists make to the vitality of a city. Alpha Bruton completed her studies in art education at California State University, Sacramento, and earned an MAAA in Art Administration from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Phantom Gallery Chicago Open Studio 2025 Bronzeville Art District Trolley Tour

"Art is Business" www.bronzevilleartdistrict.com

This summer is extra special as we’re celebrating 20 amazing years of programming!

Also, don’t miss out—The Phantom Gallery Chicago Network will be hosting an Open Studio in ROOM 205, on the second floor of the Bronzeville Artist Lofts, over ten years 2014 to 2025. I'm looking forward to seeing you all there!

Jazmin Davis is the founder and owner of JD Events, hosting events in Baltimore, Maryland, specifically at restaurants sometimes referred to as supper clubs or closed-door dining establishments. These venues often operate out of someone's home or a small, intimate space, such as our atelier gallery. JD Events will join the Phantom Gallery Chicago during our Trolley Tour from June 20th to September, where we will be mixing drinks and serving bites.

Join us for small bite appetizers from 5:30 PM to 6:30 PM, happy hour cocktails by JD Events from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM, and a party with our appetizer catering services from Soul Kitchen Chicago.

NOEL Catering:https://soulkitchenchicago.com/our-story/

Meet Noel Peters, founder and the driving force behind Soul Kitchen Chicago. Noel developed an early passion for cooking from watching her grandmother, mom, and aunts cook in the kitchen. Inspired and having learned from the matriarchs in her family, Noel quickly became known amongst her friends for making the best home-cooked meals and never shying away from sharing with everyone after school. Many years later, with ample experience under her apron, Noel has perfected her skill by traveling to various Caribbean islands, where she immersed herself in the local culture, learning from skilled chefs and home cooks alike.

This experience not only expanded Noel’s culinary knowledge but also inspired the creation of Soul Kitchen Chicago. In 2022, Noel founded Soul Kitchen Chicago to bring the soulful fusion of Southern and Caribbean flavors to the heart of Chicago. No matter the event, the hint of home-cooked dining is always present. Noel has successfully catered for various events: pop-ups, corporate events, holiday parties, business launch parties, and more!

DANI'S ART CORNER- CHILDREN AND FAMILY CREATIVE PAINTING 6pm to 8pm

We have everything you need for a fun and creative time: canvases, paints, brushes, aprons, easels, music, and plenty of inspiration! Perfect for families with young aspiring artists aged 5 to 12, it's a great opportunity to bring your friends along. Let the creative painting adventures begin while you wait for the next Double Decker! We can’t wait to see what you create!

Alpha Bruton

We're Back and Better Than Ever! Bronzeville Art District voted #2 Best Art District's

"Art is Business" https://10best.usatoday.com/awards/best-arts-district/.

Readers' Choice Awards 2025 - View the Results
10 best arts districts in the US for a creative escape
Step into the vibrant hearts of these communities

Our editors and readers independently select what you see on USA TODAY 10BEST. We may earn an affiliate commission when you buy through a link on our site.
What makes an arts district inspiring? They might be revitalized and renewed urban spaces in once-derelict neighborhoods, filled with big-name museums that feature architecture as impressive as their art. Alternatively, they could have streets lined with small galleries and studios, interspersed with trendy cafes.
You'll find that and more in these 10 winning arts districts, nominated by an expert panel and voted on by readers as the best in the U.S. These districts feature vibrant and diverse arts scenes that culturally enrich their cities and visitors.

No. 2: Best Arts District

2025

Art

No. 2: Best Arts District

Photo courtesy of Raymond Thomas Studios

Just 10 minutes from downtown on Chicago's South Side is the historic Bronzeville Art District, once known as the city's "Black Metropolis." This art district has a rich cultural legacy — the source of Muddy Waters' blues and Gwendolyn Brooks' poetry. Art galleries are housed in restored Graystones, and new murals tell stories alongside historic bronze markers. Third Fridays bring extra energy to the area, as galleries stay open late. Trolley tours of the district are a great way to get to know the area better.

Alpha Bruton

Pop Up Research Station: CSU-Sacramento Highlighting Faculty and Student Research Activities

"Art is Business" February 07, 2025, By Jennifer K. Morita

https://www.csus.edu/news/newsroom/stories/2025/2/sankofa-research-team.html..

A student-led research team preserves and documents a collection of over 600 African cultural items.

A student-led research team preserves and documents a collection of over 600 African cultural items.

Cailah Edwards, left, and Robin Kelly-Dunton are part of the student-led Sankofa Research Team at Sacramento State, working to catalog more than 600 African artifacts. The preservation effort offers students on the team hands-on experience while helping future generations connect with African cultural heritage. (Sacramento State/Andrea Price)

More than 600 African art pieces donated to Sacramento State are helping students explore the past and share aspects of African culture with future generations.

The student-led Sankofa Research Team – named after the Ghanaian symbol of a bird stretching its long neck to look back and retrieve the past – is cataloging, archiving, and preserving each piece under the guidance of Ethnic Studies Professor Clarence George III and Anthropology Museum Collections Manager Karen Dively.

A Sac State professor handles an African artifact during a cataloging project.

Karen Dively, Sacramento State's Anthropology Museum Collections Manager, examines one of more than 600 African artifacts being cataloged and preserved to help students explore and share African cultural heritage. (Sacramento State/Andrea Price)

The unique project is not just providing Sac State students with hands-on experience researching and cataloging artifacts. It will also serve as a way for the students and the wider community to learn more about African culture and history.

"I'm just over-the-moon proud of what these scholars have done," George said. "This is a massive project, and none of it gets done without my students and their passion to share these things with the world."

Plans are underway for an exhibit on campus, and students will eventually make the collection of baskets, drums, walking sticks, wood vessels, and utensils available to view online. They even have plans to bring some pieces into local schools.

Early-age exposure is something many of the students involved said they wish they could have had.

"I've never been exposed to pieces like these," Ethnic Studies major Robin Kelly-Dunton said. "Every library or museum I ever went to is mostly European art or European history. Being able to come in here and learn so much about these pieces, how they were acquired and about the people who used them, is fascinating.

"It keeps me in touch with the part of my culture I haven't had access to before."

Sacramento State's Ethnic Studies Department acquired the one-of-a-kind collection thanks to a chance encounter at Safeway three years ago.

"I was in my pajamas and I had forgotten my cell phone, but I was just there to grab a few items," George said.

One of his students was the cashier, who asked him about upcoming classes. Standing nearby was Shirley Finster, whose parents served as missionaries in Zimbabwe and had acquired a significant number of cultural items. Overhearing the conversation, she interrupted to ask if George would be interested in looking at her parents' collection.

"She and her sister, Connie, were getting up in age, and they really wanted to find a place that would save these pieces and preserve them for others to see, but nobody took on that challenge," George said. "The gravity of what she was telling me dawned on me, that she had this massive collection of African artifacts and art from her parents' experience on the continent."

He scribbled his phone number on her checkbook and asked her to call him in 15 minutes, enough time for him to get home. Exactly 15 minutes later, she called and invited him to see the collection.

"I wanted to give it to anyone who would find value in it," Shirley Finster, a retired school teacher, said. "Meeting Dr. George was so serendipitous because I didn't know how to find someone who had passion, and he's got passion.

"It's so nice that it will be in town, where I'm living, and I can go see it."

William and Esther Finster lived in what was then known as Rhodesia from the early 1960s through 1981, before the state gained its independence, raising their daughters while running youth hostels and establishing schools. The couple built looms and taught villagers how to weave doilies and textiles that could be sold to tourists. They also helped people get to health clinics and received gifts of thanks in return.

“We’ve been denied so much of our history growing up. I shouldn’t have to wait until I’m in higher education to learn who I am. I don’t want my kids to discover their history until they’re in their twenties. They should learn when they’re five.” -- J. J. Flores, Ethnic Studies prominent and Sankofa Research Team member

Over the years, the Finsters amassed a collection of handwoven baskets with handles and lids, walking sticks, drums, platters, spoons, and other tools from southern and central Africa.

"They're very diverse pieces," George said. "We have to properly identify artifacts for what they are and how they were used correctly and culturally."

A wooden mask with hand-carved facial features and hair made of yarn, believed to belong to a traditional healer, is particularly striking.

"What's cool is that some of the pieces have postcards or a little note from the person who made it or gave it to them as a thank-you gift," Dively said.

To form the Sankofa Research Team, George recruited students from a variety of academic backgrounds who were interested. Under Dively's instruction, the students are cataloging every item, tagging and assigning each one with a special number. They are also documenting each piece's details, filling out a form that includes a description, dimensions, any visible damages, and even a sketch.

Students are also researching the pieces to find out how they were used. One wooden dowel with carved decorative etchings is still under investigation.

"It's all student-led," Dively said. "I'm teaching them how to do the cataloging and find the information we need, but I'm relying on them to do the research. … These are all students Dr. George recruited, so they don't necessarily have a museum background. Some students are Business majors or from the Art department. Several are Ethnic Studies majors. There's someone from Computer Science."

Shirley and Connie Finster have visited the research team from time to time, going through the pieces with students.

"I was like, 'Pick their brains and take notes,'" Dively said. "The students have been really excited to see the objects. … They have a lot of enthusiasm."

Sac State professors pose with African artifacts as part of a cataloging project.

A professor studies an African basket.

Items from the African artifact collection being cataloged by a group of students sit on a table.

Members of the Sankofa Research Team pose.

Once the documentation is complete, the team will choose pieces for an on-campus exhibit. The rest of the collection will be archived and stored safely.

Eventually, each piece will be photographed, allowing the entire collection to be digitized and put online, so anyone with internet access can view it.

The team plans to bring a few of the sturdier pieces to local schools where children can touch and handle them while learning about African culture. They also hope to create digital learning modules that K-12 teachers anywhere can use to show their students.

Students were drawn to the project by the idea represented in the name Sankofa: reaching into the past to create a better future.

"I have an eight-year-old son, and I'm trying to get him engaged in our culture early on, because I didn't get that," Kelly-Dunton said. "So I'm exposing him to these things now. This is a wonderful way for me to learn myself and also pass this knowledge down to him."

Ethnic Studies major J. J. Flores was eager to join the research team and gain hands-on experience on a unique project.

"We've been denied so much of our history growing up," Flores said. "I shouldn't have to wait until I'm in higher education to learn who I am. I don't want my kids to discover their history until they're in their twenties. They should learn when they're five."

Although currently housed in the University's Anthropology Museum, the collection belongs to Ethnic Studies, a first for the department.

"It's been an awesome experience to bring these pieces to Sacramento State, where we can house them and take care of them and make sure they're appreciated and displayed for the world," George said.

Editor's note: This story has been revised to reflect an updated number of items in the collection and the planned exhibit's timing.

Alpha Bruton

About the Florin Road Community Beautification Project

The Florin Road Community Beautification Project, funded by Clean California, aims to improve a stretch of Florin Road from Tamoshanter Way to Franklin Boulevard. The project brings together community partners and stakeholders with a mission to reduce waste and debris, beautify and improve public spaces, and advance equity for the area's underserved communities. Florin Road has been adorned with updated landscaping, public seating, cohesive branding, and eye-catching art installations that vibrantly display the diversity and culture of the Meadowview neighborhood.

Project Highlights

One of the project's goals is to reduce the amount of waste and debris within the project area through

education, resources, and community clean-up efforts. The project funded a paid internship opportunity for local high school and college-aged youth to create waste reduction initiatives, partner with local business owners on waste reduction strategies, and collect and dispose of waste within the project area. Concluding in June of 2024, the internship resulted in the clean-up of 1,265,920 square feet of public space and the removal of 121 cubic yards of waste from the project area. Youth also created a public service campaign to raise awareness around the impacts of waste in our waterways and recreation areas, resulting in more than 252 million impressions. The project also funded upgrades to existing waste collection bins near transit stations.

Florin Road Community Beautification Project and provided information on Sunday, March 2nd. We hosted project partners and local officials who contributed to making the Florin Road Beautification Project possible for an artwork dedication ceremony at the Sacramento Regional Transit station at 3001 Florin Road, Sacramento, CA, 95822, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

After the ceremony, the community received free bus rides to visit the artworks associated with the Florin Road Beautification Project. We also encourage individuals to enjoy a free visit to the Sojourner Truth African Heritage Museum from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in honor of Free Museum Weekend. The Sojourner Truth African Heritage Museum is an instrumental partner in the Florin Road Community Beautification Project, and the property surrounding the museum houses 18 incredible artworks made possible by project funding.

Councilmember Rick Jennings, II – SacRT Board Chair.

Councilmember Mai Vang - Councilmember for District 8, Councilmember Caity Maple, newly elected Mayor McCarty, and Assembly Member Stephanie Nguyen.

Jason Jong (he/him), Cultural and Creative Economy Manager

Office of Arts and Culture, Convention and Cultural Services Department, City of Sacramento

Welcome.

A $1.2 million grant from Caltrans made the Florin Road Community Beautification Project possible. This placemaking initiative aims to enhance a segment of Florin Road, extending from Tamoshanter Way to Franklin Boulevard, through public art, beautification efforts, community outreach, and youth engagement.

"The project provided new shade trees, public seating, updated landscaping, street banners, new community signage, innovative approaches to youth engagement, paid internship opportunities for college and high school-aged youth, and 29 amazing artworks like the ones you see behind us.

Today, you will hear from stakeholders, community partners, and officials who all played a key role in making this project possible."

Megan L. Van Voorhis, Director of Convention & Cultural Services • City of Sacramento

We thank you again for your dedication and hard work, which made this project possible.

ELIZABETH CATLETT'S LEGACY IN SACRAMENTO, CA, Alpha Bruton artist,

SacRT Florin Station

Elizabeth Catlett (1915–2012) spotlighted a pivotal moment in her career, which was represented by the Sojourner Truth sculpture housed in the Crocker Art Museum, along with related prints.

by Artist Alpha Bruton

Donaldson Properties Placemaking Parking Lot/Tamoshanter Entrance

MARGARET BURROUGHS, an artist advocate for art, founded the Southside Community Art Center, the DuSable Museum, and the African and African American museums.

Location: Florin Road Transit Station, 3001 Florin Road, Sacramento, CA, 95822

Date: 3/2/2025

Time: 10:00am – 12:00am

Speakers:

• Councilmember Rick Jennings, II – SacRT Board Chair.

• Councilmember Caity Maple.

• Sergio Ochoa - Public Information Officer - Caltrans. (Project funder).

• Corey DeRoo - Executive Director - Florin Road Partnership.

• Christy Woods - Associate State Director - AARP.

• Shonna McDaniels - Founder and Executive Director of Sojourner Truth African Heritage Museum.

• Alpha Bruton- Florin Road Community Beautification Project manager and artist.

• Florin Road Community Beautification Project Artists – Henry Fisk, Taylor Pannell, Judah Pimentel.