On Arbor Day, the Village of Hazel Crest Beautification Commission hosted a Village Clean Up Day and Tree Planting, and the dedication of a new metal People Chair sculpture by artist Alpha Bruton at Art in the Woods. The event took place at the Hazel Crest Open Lands Arboretum on Saturday, April 25, 2026.
The afternoon included an outdoor digital photography workshop led by William G. Hill and a presentation on the AI-Narridin Plastic Woven Recycle Bag project, which covered the display logs.
Address: Hazel Crest Police Department
3000 W 170 Pl. Hazel Crest, IL 60429
(Parking is available)
Installed at the Village of Hazel Crest Open Lands, Kedzie at 171st.
Installation: April 18, 2026, Dedication of Sculpture: April 25, 2026, Village of Hazel Crest, Illinois
This is People Chair #29, of public art installations known as "Metal People Chairs," created by Shonna McDaniels, founder of the Sojourner Truth African Heritage Museum in Sacramento, California. Each chair in the collection honors artists of the Harlem Renaissance and the Works Progress Administration (WPA).
The Harlem Renaissance marked the emergence of Harlem, New York City's Black cultural mecca in the early 20th century—a center of social, artistic, and intellectual flourishing. Lasting roughly from the 1910s through the mid-1930s, the era is widely regarded as a golden age of African American culture, expressed through literature, music, theater, and visual art.
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was an ambitious employment and infrastructure program created by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1935, during the bleakest days of the Great Depression. Over its eight years of existence, the WPA put roughly 8.5 million Americans to work building schools, hospitals, roads and other public works. Perhaps best known for its public works projects, the WPA also sponsored projects in the arts—the agency employed tens of thousands of actors, musicians, writers and other artists.
The Hazel Crest Open Lands "Art in the Woods." This placemaking project is an exciting initiative that aims to transform our community's landscape by blending art with nature. This project seeks to engage residents throughout the process, 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 promote connection during community gatherings.
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My family came out to celebrate: Herbert Raney Jr, Jazmin Bruton Davis, and Dani Davis.
Location of the Sculpture Installation facing 171st/Kedzie Open Lands
Alpha Bruton- Artistic Statement: My "Curatorial Practice" spans 46 years.
This project is essential to my career trajectory because I am focused on creating art in non-traditional settings as an environmental installation artist, working outside the traditional gallery context. I have traveled nationally and internationally as a resident artist, engaging communities in the art of artmaking in empty lots, national forest preserves, on land held in conservancy, in alternative galleries, and in museum settings.
William G. Hill Center for the Arts
Digital Photography Workshop Presented by William G. Hill
William G. Hill founded the William G. Hill Center for the Arts (WGHCA), a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the Woodlawn community in Chicago. The mission of WGHCA is to support and improve creative and artistic expression. The organization aims to design programs that enhance, beautify, and revitalize communities physically, socially, and economically, utilizing multi-platform, culturally informed approaches to art and nature.
This placemaking project was a collaborative team:
The Village of Hazel Crest Board of Trustees, Beautification/Open Lands Commission.
Public Alpha Bruton, lead artist and muralist; Peter N. Gray, fabrication of the metal chair; and Harry Detry, embellishment of metal leaves. Works Department.
William G. Hill Center for the Arts, the Phantom Gallery Chicago Network, and Allies for Community Business Chicago.
RESEARCH:
The Composition:
MARGARET BURROUGHS, an artist advocate for art, founded the Southside Community Art Center, the DuSable Museum, and the African American Association of Museums. An active member of the African American community, she also helped establish the South Side Community Art Center, which opened on May 1, 1941, and was dedicated by the first lady of the United States, Eleanor Roosevelt. There, at the age of 23, Burroughs served as the youngest member of its board of directors. A long-time educator, she spent most of her career at DuSable High School.
Taylor-Burroughs was a prolific writer, with her efforts directed toward exploring the Black experience and toward children, especially in fostering their appreciation of cultural identity and in introducing them to art and fostering their growing awareness of it.
Freedom Railroad Quilt Patterns
Why Railroad Quilts Design? Great Migration
In 1890, William McClintock relocated from Ohio to Hazel Crest, where he established a depot for a local milk train. This depot became a vital transportation hub to Chicago and beyond, serving as the area's first real estate office, a public meeting space, a Sunday school, a day school, and the local post office.
The Underground Railroad, often misunderstood, was not an actual railway but a secret network of courageous individuals who helped enslaved people escape from the South during the 19th century. These escapees traveled to hidden "safe houses," guided by the North Star, toward northern states and Canada, where freedom awaited them.
Embellishment of wrought iron leaves, by Harry Detry
Installation of Ivy leaves attached to the screws from the back of the 1/8 " Metal plate.
Metal Oak Leaf flattened, and edges sanded smooth.
The oak leaves are attached to the metal with two rivets, creating a flush surface.
Chair fabricated by Peter N. Gray of Metal-i-genics Studio.o
Concrete pad 46" x 46"
Apply the primer coat, position the leg flaps, and ensure that the screws face each other from the inside.
Added a lip to attach to the top of the chair frame
Metal panels were delivered in two pieces for the chair's seat and back.
The Fabric of Freedom: Quilts and the Underground Railroad Denise Brown
This color study of the headpiece was based on the YouTube video "Celebrating Black History Month." Presenting Sunshine Coast artist Denise Brown's Fabric of Freedom collection, including 19 square watercolor paintings that honor the quiet revolution of the Underground Railroad through the unique, mysterious storytelling quilts that represent.
This mosaic tile work by Thomas Hill was used for her portrait composition. The portrait of the museum's founder, Margaret Taylor Burroughs, is as resistant to fading as her artistic legacy.
The texture and three-dimensional quality of mosaic wall art interact with the light and the angle of viewing. The timeless quality of mosaic portraits seems to resonate with all of us. The DuSable Museum of African-American History in Chicago has several fine mosaic tributes to influential figures.
I have always used color studies and clipping files to create collages of the ideas that inspire my compositions. These come from sources such as Paper Quilting, photos of pops of color in the natural environment of the Open Lands, and a leaf-printing workshop held there.
I like the texture and the use of leaf-printing.
Color studies for my head adornment
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