Park(ing) Day 2022 Tooltesting Journey - Session 1 (Orientation)

Our Park(ing) Day prep gatherings continue this Friday! Join our global cohort for a series of online gatherings to prepare your Park(ing) Day demonstration in good company!

RSVP for Friday's Webinar

Placemakers around the world are invited to gather online in August and September to support each others' collective actions for Park(ing) Day 2022 (Sep 16-18). We have planned a series of thematic web meetups in the following weeks intended to inspire, provoke and support you in the process of delivering a temporary parklet in your local context. Last Week's Orientation

For our kickoff orientation last week, we featured John Bela, an originator of Park(ing)Day over a decade ago, who will be back with us tomorrow to hear stories of Park(ing) Day implementations from our global cohort! See you tomorrow!

Watch Last Week's Orientation

PlacemakingJAX Launching in Florida

PlacemakingJAX is a new initiative being launched to scale up placemaking efforts in Jacksonville, Florida by granting ten $10,000 grants for community-led placemaking projects. PlacemakingUS is excited to join Jaxson Placemakers on Sept 13th from 5-7PM at Justice Pub at 315 E Bay Street, Jacksonville, Florida for the launch of the PlacemakingJAX initiative. Consider joining us for the launch or share with your contacts in the area!

Free RSVP

Flint Placemakers Share Learnings from Portland, OR Trip

Placemakers from Flint, Michigan recently visited Portland, Oregon through an exchange learning program hosted by PlacemakingUS. The Flintstones are back home and have arranged a "Lunch and Learn" to disseminate knowledge they gathered on the trip. You can join in on the event on Facebook Live! Note, you can also support the Flintstones by voting for their placemaking campaign they are finalists for through the Michigan Municipal League Bridge Builders program.

RSVP For Reminder

Special Thanks to all the PDX Placemakers we met with who made this trip so special including Greg Raisman, Kirk Rea, Mark Lakeman, Michael Mehaffy, Stephen Schneider, Jennifer Polver, Ellen Shoshkes, Blair Vallie, Erica Dorn, Matt Bibeau, Harrell Fletcher, Master Artist Michael Bernard Stevenson Jr.

Help Support our Work!

PlacemakingUS is now organized as a 501c(3) non-profit project of Social Environmental Entrepreneurs. Please donate and support our work!   What We're About PlacemakingUS is a national network organized to unleash community power to build living, interconnected places together. Through our “United Streets of America” program, we prioritize working with frontline communities that have been uprooted and looted by destructive urban planning, auto-oriented development, racist policies and unequal investment. Our network is fighting back by equipping communities across the country with a range of tools, experiences, funding and new relationships to regenerate their neighborhoods into complex, resilient systems transformed to face 21st century issues like climate change, isolation/polarization, economic inequity and public health.

Donate to PlacemakingUS

Urban Juncture Foundation Wins $1 Million Grant

"Art is Business"  Contact: Sandria Washington, communications@urbanjuncture.com, P: 773.891.4159

Urban Juncture Foundation Wins $1 Million Grant from

the Mellon Foundation for New Arts Spaces in The Forum

Creative Complex at The Forum will establish locally-owned hospitality, entertainment, and cultural spaces in Chicago’s historic Bronzeville neighborhood, Credit: Adrian Walker

CHICAGO (March 28, 2022) - Urban Juncture Foundation (UJF) announced today it was recently awarded $1,000,000 of capital grant funding by the Mellon Foundation Humanities in Place program to support the development of new arts and cultural heritage spaces within The Forum, one of the last landmarks of Chicago’s golden Black Metropolis era. The grant will significantly advance a portion of The Forum’s multi-million dollar rehabilitation and Urban Juncture’s mission to restore it as a hub of culture, creativity, and community by establishing The Creative Complex at The Forum.

“We are delighted to partner with the Mellon Foundation to move our iconic structure and historic community forward,” said UJF President Bernard Loyd. “This grant lets us take the next big step towards fully revitalizing The Forum, as it enters its 125th year and celebrating Bronzeville stories.”

Built-in 1897, The Forum anchored Chicago’s vibrant Bronzeville neighborhood as the epicenter of civic, social, commercial, and cultural Black life for over 75 years.

Since its closing in the 1970s, the 32,000 sq. ft. complex has stood equally resilient and defiant at the 43rd Street Green Line train station as both a past and hopeful future home to some of the city’s - and the nation’s - richest stories of Black life as told through music, cuisine, art, film and photography, dance and the infinite imagination that is Black culture.

What amazing stories would The Forum’s neighbors tell or create given the space and opportunity today? The Creative Complex at The Forum marks the present-day intersection that bridges The Forum’s legacy and future and helps the community to live, tell, enjoy and preserve those stories.

The Creative Complex at The Forum will occupy the three double-level storefront spaces at 318 - 322 East 43rd Street comprising The Forum’s “West Annex” and includes the buildout of four arts-based spaces:

● Creative Incubator (318 E. 43rd): The organizational and hospitality heart of the Creative Complex, featuring an aground floor cafe, shared office, and multi-media production space in the basement, among an array of support services designed to help local creatives “eat off their art.”

● Metropolis Gallery (320 E. 43rd): Will celebrate the Black experience in Bronzeville through an ever-changing set of art and historical exhibitions highlighting the work of local artists, historians, archivists, and other storytellers

● Hansberry Studio (322 E. 43rd): A unique community theater (first floor) and multi-use wellness lab (basement level) celebrating Lorraine Hansberry by providing high-quality learning, performance, and wellness opportunities to Black girls and women

● West Facade: The expansive rooftop covering the storefront spaces will feature “Train of Thoughts,” a year-round video storytelling initiative utilizing a 15 x 20 ft. screen on the facade

Urban Juncture is excited to collaborate with mission-aligned partners and local entrepreneurs like Gumbo Media, a Chicago-based media, community, and storytelling enterprise, to fully activate each space, bring the community together and support storytelling across mediums.

“We’re invigorated by the opportunity to establish a physical community presence through our new and first headquarters in The Forum’s Metropolis Gallery. As community builders and storytellers, particularly for Black people and communities, nothing feels more fitting than having an office that functions as a narrative bridge between Chicago’s vibrant past and a bold, revitalized future,” said Matthew Manning, Gumbo Media’s Co-Founder and Creative Director.

“But this won’t just be our office,” added Manning. “We’re calling this space the “Metropolis Gallery,” making it a home for community, expression, and storytelling that honors the past, catalyzes the present, and reimagines the future of Black Chicago, doing our part to rebuild what once stood here as a Black Metropolis.”

Urban Juncture Foundation is honored to have the support of the Mellon Foundation, the nation’s largest supporter of the arts and humanities, for this project.

“By centering Chicago’s Black heritage and culture, the Creative Complex at The Forum will bring the presence and power of the African American community’s rich history, experiences, and creativity to help shape a more just community today and in the future,” said Mellon Foundation Humanities in Place program officer Justin Garrett Moore. “This investment on Chicago’s South Side joins other public, private, community, and philanthropic support and has the potential to elevate the

essential work of local artists, historians, archivists, storytellers, and entrepreneurs in conserving and enhancing their communities.”

To learn more about The Forum, participate in upcoming small group tours, or volunteer, please visit

theforumbronzeville.com.

###

About Urban Juncture Foundation

Urban Juncture advances the sustainable development of economically challenged urban neighborhoods. By bringing together community assets, particularly people, culture, and history, with like-minded external partners in a collaborative effort, Urban Juncture fosters local entrepreneurship, delivers needed products and services, beautifies the community, builds social capital, and facilitates economic mobility. Learn more at urbanjuncture.org.

Professional Development Opportunities, Listen in on EQUITICITY

"Art is Business"

Impact in Motion:

A Community Mobility Rituals Webinar Series

Fridays in April 2022, 10am PT / 12pm CT / 1pm ET

Zoom Registration Here

Equiticity is hosting A Community Mobility Rituals Webinar Series, made up of five webinars on consecutive Fridays in April 2022 at 10am PT / 12pm CT / 1pm ET.

The full webinar series will be focused on Community Mobility Rituals (CMRs) and each webinar will be focused on a particular topic related to CMRs.

The five webinars are as follows:

This Friday, April 1: A Founder’s Testimony: An Introduction to Community Mobility Rituals

Friday, April 8: The Ritual of Planning: A Curator’s Panel 

Friday, April 15: The Art of Storytelling: A Narrator’s Panel

Friday, April 22: The Art of Collaboration: Creating Quality Partnerships  

Friday, April 29: CMR Rx: The Future of Communal Impact

Community Mobility Rituals (CMRs) include our perennial mainstays of community bicycle rides and neighborhood walking tours. New this year, we will add to our rituals mix all of the following: public transit excursions, group scooter rolls, and Ciclovia-style open street festivals.

The intent of the webinar series is to share with the world what are Community Mobility Rituals; how they are planned and executed; the impact they are having on people, neighborhoods, cities, and community partners; and the research which supports the intended and achieved impacts.

The webinar series will include panelists from across the United States who are all practitioners actively organizing CMRs in their respective cities and communities.

We look forward to you joining our webinar series, and please feel free to invite your colleagues who may also be interested in learning more about Community Mobility Rituals.

 

RSVP Here

ZOOM Gallery Opening "Creative Conversations" with artists in their studios.

"Art is Business" Bronzevilleartdistrict.com 

Forecasting what the future holds, and how we adapt to new ways of presenting art engagement, and audience development while practicing social distancing.  Alpha Bruton, Founder of the Phantom Gallery Chicago, is moving to mark out a new and exciting program for the future of gallery practice in a virtual space.

 AUGUST FEATURED ARTIST/CURATOR/MUSEUM FOUNDER

SEPTEMBER FEATURED ARTIST/ ART PROFESSOR/ MODERNIST

BRONZEVILLE ART DISTRICT IS THE LARGEST 

AFRICAN AMERICAN ART  DISTRICT IN THE COUNTRY

The Bronzeville Art District has gone virtual. 

RSVP on Eventbrite July 17th at 7 pm CST.

2020 Bronzeville Art District Virtual Gallery Tours

Eventbrite to RSVP-

7pm - 8pm CST

"Examining the State of Our Environment"

Visit the Bronzeville Art District Virtual Trolley Tour

"Art is Business" https://www.bronzevilleartdistrict.com/

Women's History Month, Gallery Guichard Presents Color me IN

"Art is Business"   rsvp Eventbrite Bronzeville Art District

Creative Capital staff is working remotely due to COVID-19, so please direct all communications through email. Online workshops will continue as planned.

Due to the Coronavirus situation, we are going to postpone the panel discussion scheduled for March 20th until May 23rd, 2020 to 12 to 3 pm.

We hope this message finds you and yours in good health. The Bronzeville Art District remains committed to creating diverse and engaging exhibitions and programs. However, we believe it is in the best interest of vulnerable populations to temporarily postpone current events and gatherings until we know more due to COVID-19.

There are so many aspects of the virus that we do not yet understand. As such, we must act based on what we currently know to support our community as best we can. We encourage you to follow an expanded set of best practices to keep yourself, your loved ones, and those you don't know healthy.

Merging Tactical Urbanism with public works

Robert Steuteville is the editor of Public Square: A CNU Journal and senior communications adviser for the Congress for the New Urbanism.
https://www.cnu.org/publicsquare/2019/02/07/merging-tactical-urbanism-public-works

Merging Tactical Urbanism with public works
The City of Burlington, Vermont, has initiated an innovative, flexible streetscape improvement program that saves money and time and is more responsive to the community.

ROBERT STEUTEVILLE    FEB. 7, 2019

Burlington's interest in bike-walk issues goes back decades, at least to when Bernie Sanders was mayor when his administration focused on the revitalization of downtown and the waterfront in the 1980s—working with Republicans and Democrats at the start of his political career. The city of 42,000 on Lake Champlain, home to the University of Vermont, has long employed a 30-day pilot program to test public works projects. This program was used in closing the first block to traffic for what is now the Church Street Marketplace.

It makes sense that when Burlington adopted its first-ever Bike-Walk Plan in 2017, implementation would go hand-in-hand with Tactical Urbanism. With the motto "short-term action for long-term change," Tactical Urbanism is all about testing changes to the public realm to improve the experience of pedestrians and cyclists—often using less expensive, flexible materials.

Burlington is now refining a tactical approach to bike-walk streetscape alterations that cost about a quarter of a full-scale street rebuilding­—and can be implemented much faster. "We felt this was the logical next step," says Nicole Losch, a senior planner with the Department of Public Works.

In a year and a half since the plan was adopted, Burlington has built a Neighborhood Greenway in the Old North End neighborhood to provide a slow-speed cycling route stretching more than a mile from the university campus to a lakefront park. The Greenway slows traffic through curb extensions and mid-block pinch points, using materials that are easy to move and adjust. The city has also made improvements on a five-way intersection in the city's South End, installed a protected bike lane on Church Street near two schools, and installed curb extensions and other changes to intersections in downtown locations.

The usual streetscape change involves a lengthy planning process, engineering drawings, funding, paving, and construction—and then you find out how well it works. This can take years, and consequently, few projects are implemented. Burlington has replaced that method with a four-step incremental process. First, a week-long tactical demonstration project can be initiated by citizens. Next, the 30-day pilot project can be undertaken by Public Works. The next step is a Quick Build project, designed to last one to five years. Permanent street changes involving new pavement are the final step—after a project has been adjusted and tested to work out the kinks. Most of the last year and a half changes have been completed through the Quick Build program, which involves materials that can be tested and moved—and even removed seasonally if difficulties arise in Burlington's long winters. The city has adopted its own Quick Build Design + Materials guide that systemizes the approach. "I recommend that other cities try something similar," says Losch.

Burlington hired Street Plans Collaborative to do the Bike Walk comprehensive plan. Principals Mike Lydon and Anthony Garcia are known as Tactical Urbanism thought leaders—they have written a book and numerous other publications on the subject. The collaboration led to the city adopting the community demonstration project approach, giving residents a way to implement short-term streetscape projects. The town can only complete so many projects a year. If the city can't get to the project neighbors want, the residents can apply for a demonstration and build it themselves. "If successful, it will be a priority the next year," says Losch.

The flexible Quick Build program is another innovation. "We wanted it to be a one-stop shop, outlining the materials that could be used, navigating the permit process, and working with neighbors," says Losch.


The Quick Build program in Burlington. Source: Street Plans Collaborative
The North End greenway meanders east-west along mostly low-volume neighborhood streets. The city is still formally gathering data on its success. "Anecdotally, we've heard it is working," she says. "It is a better route than they would have expected and really convenient, especially by bike." No changes were made to the pavement, which accounts for the low cost and flexibility. Curb extensions that narrow the street and reduce crossing distances are marked by paint, large planters, and "low, flexible bollards" that can be shifted in their position. During winter, when Burlington gets a lot of snow, the plantings are removed and replaced the following spring.

How is it working for public works employees responsible for snow removal and maintenance? "We are fortunate to have a pretty open-minded team that recognizes that the city is growing differently," says Losch. "The projects benefit the community, although they are not making the Public Works jobs easier. We are training the drivers to anticipate the changes before the snow flies and working with the planners and the street maintenance team on the projects."

Burlington's long winters are an additional advantage to the Quick Build program. There's the option of removing part or all of a project and re-installing it in the spring. Due to winter challenges and lower seasonal use, the city is considering a seasonal choice for a protected bike lane. That option is only possible because of the flexible material pallet of Quick Build.

The City of Burlington has used the Quick Build Design + Materials Standards to install five pedestrian, bicycle, and public space projects, most notably the 1.25-mile Greenway, connecting the campus to the waterfront. The Old North End Greenway is an interim design that can be adjusted easily depending on observed function and utility. There is no change to the street section, new pavement, or permanent plantings, yet the project has dramatically changed the streetscape.

Nathaniel McLin was a Chicago-based Art Critic - From the Archives

This blog post is in remembrance of a supporter of the Phantom Gallery Chicago and was my advisor. He was a fixture at gallery openings, exhibits and art lectures, Mr. McLin, 55, died Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2010.

Nathaniel McLin, who grew up in a family of respected musicians, promoted local African-American artists who didn't get the attention he felt they deserved and hosted a radio program for 25 years devoted to art. Nathaniel was a support of the Phantom Gallery Chicago Network, he shared so much of his intellectual property with myself and fellow artists. He was the curator for the Phantom Gallery Chicago 2009 PostProduction Exhibit, hosted at the Murphy Hill Gallery, featuring artists Fredrick Owens and Everett Williams. The curatorial discussion was carried on amongst curators: Owens, Williams, Patti, Hill, and moderated by Alpha Bruton.



Nathaniel McLin was a Chicago-based art critic who's been published in numerous publications and frequently wrote for Paint magazine.

He also hosted a radio show called “The Art Museum of Chicago” on WHPK 88.5 FM in Chicago. Nathaniel also contributed an essay for Kerry James Marshall’s catalog One True Thing: Meditations on Black Aesthetics. Nathaniel McLin made a comment on Joyce Owens: Artist on Art concerning art critics and getting reviews published:

Nat McLin featured ranter, began to sing his rant for the  RantAthon fundraiser at LBP. 

“I would say as an art critic it is very difficult to get editors to publish a review of an artist/home studio show. 

Editors prefer to publish reviews of the artist in third party venues. Also, most of the major organizations that promote artists on their web sites and lists refuse to deal with artist cooperatives. I found I will hurt my career by pushing artists that are not in the gallery system. Every time I try to write about a local artist that is not a recent MFA grad following a trendy movement I risk being cut off from that publication permanently.”

Reference Links:
http://neotericart.com/2008/07/08/one-question-with-nathaniel-mclin/
http://octobergallery.com/paintmagazine/index.html,
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2010-01-22-1001210853-story.html,
http://neotericart.com/2008/07/08/one-question-with-nathaniel-mclin/,
http://bronzevilleblogchicago.blogspot.com/2010/01/renaissance-man-of-arts-art-critic.html,

Sojourner Truth African Heritage Museum Part 3 Using Tactical Urbanism as a Tool

"Art is Business"
Sojourner Truth African Heritage Museum Part 3 Using Tactical Urbanism as a tool 10/03 by Phantom Gallery Chicago Network | Visual Arts:

"Izzy" Isreal Low and David Washington

Using tactical urbanism as a tool and art in placemaking,  Sojourner Truth African Heritage Museum kicked off its Community Mural Beautification and Educational Workshops on July 15th,2019. Professional artists working with the museum provided workshops and mural training. The first project of this series was held at the Mack Road Valley High Community center. Youth were introduced to film documentaries from the artist of the Harlem Renaissance, youth who attended learned about jazz artists, poets and writers, and visual artists who were legendary and made a historical impact through the arts. The Harlem Renaissance was an intellectual, social, and artistic explosion centered in Harlem, New York, from 1918–37. At the time, it was known as the "New Negro Movement," named after The New Negro, a 1925 anthology edited by Alain Locke.

Shonna McDaniels, Executive Director, a visual artist, and community activist, envisioned an institution to preserve Black history and celebrate the accomplishments of African American people and their legacy. Offering resources to document, preserve and educate the public on African Americans' history, life, and culture.

Want to join me in making a difference? Shonna asked David Washington the question he said yes. He is a motivated muralist with five years' experience and enthusiasm for developing a curriculum for community arts education. In addition, he brings with him deep architecture and art history knowledge. He started at SOJO Summer Camp as a volunteer-created fun and educational activity for campers.

David painted images on a bench themed after W.H. Johnson, with one of Langston Hughes Poetry benches, also the raised bed, and other elements of the garden. 

Wabi House MicroCinema Screenings Open House

"Art is Business"  posted for Renee Baker

Wabi House MicroCinema

Screenings Open House

 Saturday, August 24

12 noon- 10 pm

Phantom Gallery Chicago Network 

436 E 47th St Suite #205 

Award-winning composer and filmmaker Renée Baker present film selections from the Chicago Modern Orchestra Project canon.

SCREENINGS:
Body and Soul                               12:00 pm
Ask Your Mama                              1:30 pm
The Seashell and the Clergyman     2:45 pm
Within Our Gates.                            3:45 pm
Borderline.                                       4:55 pm
The Flying Ace.                               6:00 pm
God's Stepchildren.                          7:00 pm
A Page of Madness.                         8:15 pm
The Blue Bird.                                 9:15 pm
OuterExtremia Short Films presented between features.

Refreshments provided.

File Image from Renee Baker Facebook,  presented at University of Illinois 

Tickets available at Eventbrite 50 Cents 

File archive image 

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/wabi-house-microcinema-screenings-open-house-tickets-68912696731

Larissa J. Akinremi Uses Nature as an Experiment to Showcase the Black Body in Outdoor Landscapes.

 "Art is Business" BlogTalkRadio Interview with artist Larissa J. Akinremi.

Headshot of Larissa J. Akinremi 

Artist Statement 

The daughter of creative visionaries activist Bobbie Johnson and Zaid A. Maalikulmulk, 80s club kid and social curator Larissa Johnson-Akinremi (b. Baltimore, MD, 1969) began her career jewelry designer in the early 1990s after college and years later as a freelance make-up artist and fashion stylist. In 2000 she became the host, promoter, and nightlife social curator for Deep House Page, Chicago's premier source for music entertainment and dance culture. Now her focus is on photography and curation. She is inspired by nature, people, social interaction, music, and dance culture. In addition, she enjoys the surreal and spiritual realm, and some of her work encompasses those forms. Larissa's process includes photography of the human condition, a play on light and body movement, spoken word, animation, video, and performance art. In her spare time and upon request, she is also a DJ. Johnson's first solo exhibition, People, Places, and Things, took place in 2015 at Tangible Things. Her work was most recently featured at Beats and Treats, a solo exhibition at Chicago's Bronzeville Room 43, which featured local artists. 

 

For the One

Dancer: Sadira Muhammad

Media: Digital print on canvas, 2017

20 X 16

The One is a Universal term for Allah; God, 

Tetragrammaton, Jehovah, Yahweh, Father, Abba, or The Light.

The dancer moves with a finger pointing upwards. 

This is symbolic of The One.

The photo was taken at Gele Day, an annual event hosted by Pilar Awodola Songofemi Audain-Reed at 63rd Street Beach.

Night Moves

Media: Digital print on canvas, 2016

20 X 16

Night Moves features dancer Cat Mahari in an evening dance at Foster Street Beach.

Black Seeds in the Garden

Media: Digital print on canvas, 2013

12 X 8

A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering. To a Black mother, her children and sons are her seeds. She nurtures, covers love, and protects them from seeing them bloom. The photo was taken at Garfield Park Conservatory.

A Dance for Mother and Child

Media: Digital print on canvas, 2017

12 X 12

When I was a little girl, I used to dance with my mother. It was the closest thing to God. This picture holds so many memories, and I am glad I caught it. The photo was taken at Gele Day, an annual event hosted by Pilar. Awodola Songofemi Audain-Reed at 63rd Street Beach.

Protect Our Children

Media: Digital print on canvas

12 X 8

Often times our children are shot and killed in the streets while going to school, running an errand, playing in front of the house, or just playing basketball.

I was sitting in the community park at Reavis Math and Science Academy and captured these young men playing basketball ball and couldn't help but notice the caption on the mural "Protect Our Children."

Lotus

Media: Digital print on canvas, 2016

12 X 12

Lotus Love is a Healer specializing in Reiki, life coaching, massage therapy, and crystal energy healing. The photo was taken along the beach shoreline at 67^th South Shore Drive.

In 2016,  Ms. Johnson’s work was featured in a group exhibition; Continuous Span at the Hyde Park Center and her along with other collaborating curators facilitated the exhibition Taking Shapes at the Hyde Park Art Center. 

Her photography was selected to appear in Connect Gallery Hyde 2017 and Connect Gallery South Shore in the fall of 2018, a weekend Showcase of local Chicago artists hosted by the Silver Room's Pop-Up Gallery. Larissa Johnson lives and works in Chicago and is the curator for Sounding Bronzeville, a gathering space along the Burnham Wildlife Corridor, south lakefront region. She is also the promoter and creative director for Universal Dance Music. She also served as the coordinator for The Great Migration Centennial and Bronzeville Community Development Partnership and assisted in special projects with the Bronzeville Visitors Association. Ms. Johnson is the president of Race to Knowledge and Beyond, successor to her late mother's organization Race to Knowledge, and founder of "the social movement."  

Larissa is the Creative and Promotions Director for "Universal Dance Music," as well as other collaborative projects with Chicago artists, historians, and creatives. In addition, she received her Visual Arts Certification from the University of Chicago Graham School and Hyde Park Art Center in 2017.