| Featuring work by | Stephen Flemister | Krista Franklin | Emmanuel Pratt | Amanda Williams |
| Curated by Tempestt Hazel |
ABOUT THE PROJECT.
The Future's Past is a pilot curatorial project comprising several public window installations and a collaborative exhibition, completed as part of the Black Metropolis Research Consortium (BMRC) Fellowship in Chicago, Illinois. It combines new technology and new media to offer an introductory glimpse into the histories of Chicago’s Black Metropolis, available across a variety of locations, including the archives of the member institutions of the BMRC.
For this project, information from the archives and other sources will be compiled and curated into five light and image installations in windows, based on significant art and cultural locations along South Parkway (now King Drive), between 35th Street and 47th Street. This particular stretch of land was chosen because it holds some of the richest history in Chicago. Many musicians, performers, writers, journalists, and activists who shaped the Chicago we know today built their enterprises and solidified their undeniable talents within the spaces and on the stages of South Parkway.
The exhibition at Blanc Gallery serves as a starting point and the space that brings together the wide reach of this project. Work by artists Stephen Flemister, Krista Franklin, Emmanuel Pratt, and Amanda Williams, who individually and collaboratively created visual responses to the historic locations and the premise of The Future’s Past, along with a selection of research materials and technological components, will be on view through November 11th.
Coinciding with the exhibition and installations, new technology in the form of QR codes and a website component with additional content will make a selection of the archive and information from the research accessible to the public.
The purpose of this project is to introduce the youth and current community to the history within the streets, buildings, and spaces in which they live their everyday lives through a language they can understand–technology. Doing this will simultaneously introduce the BMRC archives and other resources to a new audience, showcase the rich history in these collections, and promote their use.
Note: If you own a smartphone (iPhone, Android, etc.), you are strongly encouraged to download a barcode scanner before coming to the show to take full advantage of the interaction with the installations and exhibition.
For more information, visit http://futurespastchicago.wordpress.com/.
The exhibition at Blanc Gallery serves as a starting point and the space that brings together the wide reach of this project. Work by artists Stephen Flemister, Krista Franklin, Emmanuel Pratt, and Amanda Williams, who individually and collaboratively created visual responses to the historic locations and the premise of The Future’s Past, along with a selection of research materials and technological components, will be on view through November 11th.
Coinciding with the exhibition and installations, new technology in the form of QR codes and a website component with additional content will make a selection of the archive and information from the research accessible to the public.
The purpose of this project is to introduce the youth and current community to the history within the streets, buildings, and spaces in which they live their everyday lives through a language they can understand–technology. Doing this will simultaneously introduce the BMRC archives and other resources to a new audience, showcase the rich history in these collections, and promote their use.
Note: If you own a smartphone (iPhone, Android, etc.), you are strongly encouraged to download a barcode scanner before coming to the show to take full advantage of the interaction with the installations and exhibition.
For more information, visit http://futurespastchicago.wordpress.com/.
