Dear Neighbor,
Are you a sculptor, painter, multi-media artist or another kind of artist and would like to receive funding to create a piece of public art? If so, you may want to apply to the City of Chicago’s 50 x 50 Neighborhood Arts Project.
As part of my ongoing commitment to the arts in Rogers Park, I am contributing $10,000 of the 49th Ward’s 2017 “aldermanic menu” budget to this project that will subsidize the creation of up to two pieces of public art in our community. The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Consumer Events (DCASE) will match my $10,000 contribution with an identical $10,000 contribution, providing a grand total of $20,000 for public art in the 49th Ward under this program.
Mayor Emanuel declared 2017 as the “Year of Public Art,” a citywide celebration commemorating the 50th anniversary of two of our most seminal public artworks—the Picasso in Daley Plaza and the Wall of Respect, which once stood at 43rd Street and Langley Avenue on the city’s South Side. The 50 X 50 Neighborhood Arts Project, which aims to create public arts projects in all 50 Chicago wards, is one of the new programs launched this year.
In an “open call” process, the City invites individual artists, artist teams and arts organizations who have a lead artist(s) to submit their qualifications for the project. DCASE and representatives from Chicago’s cultural community will review the applications and create a pool of pre-qualified artists for me to choose from.
In keeping with my tradition of community participation, I will develop a process to ensure that the residents of our ward have input in selecting the artist(s) who will create the public art in the 49th Ward. (Please note I will continue allocate $1 million of my discretionary aldermanic menu budget to my Participatory Budgeting process and additional arts projects may be funded from that process.)
For more information on the 50 X 50 Neighborhood Arts Project program and to download an application, visit the Call for Entries website. The application deadline is Friday, February 24th.
You may also want to attend one of several workshops DCASE is hosting this week for potential applicants. The workshops will be held at the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St., on the following dates and times:
- Today (Monday, January 23rd), 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. or 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
- Tuesday, January 24th, 12:00 noon to 2:00 p.m.
- Wednesday, January 25th, 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon
Artists will be selected in March and the proposal will be developed and executed this spring and summer.
I’m looking forward to working with our artists and neighbors to bring more public art to the 49th Ward!
Sincerely,
Joe Moore