Open Lands: Tree Planting in honor of National Arbor Day.

"Art is Business. 

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.

Pickup and delivery day at Peter N Gray Studio, young, enterprising artists to assist with movement. 

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:

MARGARET BURROUGHS

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

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

Texture leaves study for the seat

Reimagining Black Identity, Strength, and Vulnerability Music Performance

"Art is Business"  February 21, 2025   

This art exhibit explores the multifaceted healing nature of Black identity, shedding light on the complex intersections of strength, vulnerability, history, and future within the Black experience. We invite artists of all mediums—visual art, sculpture, photography, performance, and beyond—to submit works that address the evolving narrative of Blackness in contemporary society.

The exhibit will showcase pieces that reframe traditional representations, inviting viewers to engage with themes of resilience, introspection, liberation, and the ever-shifting contours of identity. Artists are encouraged to challenge stereotypes and preconceived notions of Blackness, emphasizing the beauty and power of embracing vulnerability and quiet strength in moments of resistance, defiance, and healing.

We are looking for works that speak to the full range of Black-lived experiences, capturing both the triumphs and the struggles, the joy and the pain, the collective memory and individual expression. The exhibit aims to create space for reflection, dialogue, and healing while embracing the depth and complexity that define Blackness.

This exhibit will offer a new, unapologetically authentic, challenging, and transformative vision by reimagining Black identity healing, strength, and vulnerability. Artists are encouraged to draw upon personal narratives, cultural history, and current social movements to inspire their work, creating an environment where art becomes a tool for collective healing, liberation, and empowerment.

"Man's Way, Nature's Way." Richard Hunt

"Art is Business"

https://maps.app.goo.gl/h6mjLyQLn57EFCHM9

Lobby Sculpture: Richard Hunt

The staircase to the second floor is a stainless steel sculpture in the lobby. The artist, Richard Hunt, creates abstract metal works, each a unique shrine to the human spirit. Richard Hunt has completed almost 100 public sculptures, large and small. The sculpture, explicitly developed for the CalEPA building, is tentatively titled "Man's Way, Nature's Way." The theme, according to Mr. Hunt, "is some of the ways man and nature originate and modify form. In its complex spatial organization of internal, external, natural, and architectonic relationships, the sculpture seeks to represent sculptural ideas of building a base, frame, and reference for human interaction with the environment."

Mr. Hunt, a graduate of The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, has been a professor or artist in residence at several prestigious universities. His work is displayed in several public buildings, as well as at the Hirschhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, the National Gallery, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, to name a few.

Conceptual Sculpture: Renee Baker

Renee Baker - THE GREAT BLACK MUSIC PROJECT

Renee' Baker- violinist/violist, composer, leader, painter, poet

Ms. Baker is the founder/leader of FAQ (Faith Action Quorum), Mantra Blue Free Orchestra, Red Chai, Wrinkled Linen, Connoisseur Musica String Ensemble (classical), Poemusici (spoken word group), Blanche (experimental orchestra), and the Renee Baker Trio. In addition, she has created eclectic chamber festivals for Adler Planetarium, Shedd Aquarium, Norris Cultural Arts Center, and Classical Symphony Hall. Ms. Baker has composed over 200 compositions ranging from string quartets to much larger ensembles as a composer.

Renee Baker's official entrée into the creative music arena came through an invitation to join Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth Strings. As a proud new member of the venerable AACM, her musical affiliations have to include Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth Orchestra, David Boykin Expanse, Orbert Davis w/Strings Attached, Doug Carn, Karl Siegfried's Galaxy String Quartet, Great Black Music Ensemble (AACM), Chicago Jazz Philharmonic, and Chicago Jazz Orchestra.

Ms. Baker has appeared at many venues, including Woodland Patterns (WI), Kerrytown Concert House (Mi), Velvet Lounge ( Chicago), Elastic Arts Foundation, Myopic Improv Music Series, Adler Planetarium, Hyde Park Arts Center, MAC (College of DuPage), Hungry Brain, Empty Bottle, Hideout, Heaven Gallery, Jazz Showcase, Green Mill, Columbia College, Gallery 37, Millennium Park, Chicago Cultural Center, Scottish, Spareroom, Cheney Mansion, and the South Shore Cultural Center. Ms. Baker was also instrumental in the Feb 2008 opening of the new Arts /Music space Brown Rice which presents cutting-edge, creative music performances and experimental artists of vast disciplines, looking to develop and hone their specialties.

Her creative/ music influences include Kurt Schwitters, Nicole Mitchell, Terry Riley, David Boykin, Orbert Davis, Josh Abrams, Anthony Braxton, May Sarton, Anne Truitt, Steve Reich, Jackson Pollock, Tony Conrad, Mark Rothko, Coleridge- Taylor Perkinson, and Dr. Paul Freeman.

Ms. Baker is a published poet and a painter/conceptual artist of found objects with pieces in private collections through the US.

 "Art is Business" Re-posted by Alpha Bruton by Renee Baker:

Good morning- to each of you that are true friends, I share this tidbit of information. When you ain't about nothing, nothing bothers you much...When you are about the mission given to you by the 

Creator, watch out!!! I thank each of you for your support all the way around.

 

Renee Baker

 .. that's all. Karma, God, the Creator, etc., will take care of the nasty ones...you know them well. I also want each of you to not be affected by any negativity from me

.. I'm 

AN OPTIMIST ALWAYS AND WON’T WEIGH MYSELF OR YOU DOWN WITH THE NONSENSE ANYMORE

..We can all get caught up in the swirl, and that's what they want..to be able to separate, confuse, divide and conquer. It's a big lovely world out there, and we each have to claim our piece in it.

This country is full of the bitter ones..let them eat each other

..... I'm MOVING FORWARD/WHATEVER THAT MEANS/I'VE GOT A LIFE THAT IS DESTINED TO CREATE PEACE HARMONY AND LOVE...

About keeping strong...Scripture first (whatever your Holy book is), then all these hints can be helpful.

 

Negative self-talk and negative energy can affect you in many ways and cause you additional stress. Because of this, developing more positive self-talk is a critical way to reduce stress in your life. You can help yourself maintain a positive frame of mind—which will help with positive self-talk—by surrounding yourself with positive energy in your life. You can get that by adding the following elements to your life:

Uplifting Music: Listening to music with a soothing melody and an uplifting message can be great for developing positive self-talk. Have you ever had a song 'stuck in your head' for a few hours or days, the lyrics repeating themselves in your mind? If those lyrics were positive and inspirational, that would be a good thing. It's a much better mental soundtrack to have than a running stream of complaints, criticisms, self-limiting thoughts, or even songs that had more depressing or sad lyrics. (When times get tough, I often think of Wilson Phillips' classic, "Hold On," but there are dozens of good ones out there.)

Inspirational Books: Books on strength, personal power, enlightenment, or self-help can be good resources to help you change your outlook and the things you say to yourself. Rather than triggering habitual, self-defeating thoughts, you can find yourself thinking of new can-do concepts when times get tough. (For shifting your paradigm, I love Gary Zukav's "The Heart of the Soul" or Sarah Ban Breathnach's classic "Simple Abundance.")

Positive People: One of the most important ways you can get (and keep) positive energy in your life is with the company you keep. Do your friends uplift you or bring you down? Are they critical or complementary? Perfect friendships provide support when you're down, fun when you're up, wisdom when you're lost, and positive regard. Good friends can inspire you to reach greater heights and see your strengths even when you don't always. Pay attention to how your friends make you feel, and if they're less than supportive, start putting your energy and time toward people who are better suited to be your friend. (For more on social support and friendships, see the Relationship Section.)

Practice Affirmations: Positive affirmations can subtly but pervasively change your self-talk from negative to positive. See this article for some creative ways to begin working positive affirmations into your life.

LOVE Y'ALL- Renee'