Latest Work

For more information on recent projects and to find out about upcoming workshops, projects and volunteer opportunities, please visit the CPAG Blog.

Come to Light, Osterman Beach Comfort Station

"Come to Light," the project at the Osterman Beach Comfort Station is complete! It is a beautifully sparkling and lively multi-media project. Congrats to Lead Artist Andy Bellomo and Assisting Artists Will Nicholson and Brett Whitacre. The project was made possible by the support of the Chicago Park Distrcit and is located just east of Sheridan and Ardmore on the North Side.

Albany Whipple Playground Sculptures

Phil Shuster led clay workshops with groups from the Chicago Park District and the Trust for Public Lands. At these workshops participants created relief elements which were incorporated into a bench for the newly designed Albany Whipple Playground located at 1803 N. Albany. Phil also created the whimsical spider sculpture (shown above) as the focal point of the playground. The spider sculpture was cast in fiberglass and installed as a play component. Funded by: Chicago Park District and Friends of the Bloomingdale Trail

City as Site

Maria Gaspar led CPAG's first project to explore temporary performance based public art. During the City as Site project, five visiting artists introduced youth participants to different interdisciplinary art methods, which were then applied as youth created 150 transitory, experiential, and performance art projects in their communities. Through this process, youth participants entered a dialogue with their communities and its residents in asking questions such as "What constitutes public space?", "What constitutes public art?" and "What is the role of the artist within community-engaged art projects?" The goal throughout this project was to show that art contributes to strengthening communities, and to expose young artists to collaborative art forms that move from "the wall" to "off the wall".

Guest artists were Olivia Gude, Alexander Eisenschmidt, Sebastian Alvarez, Carla Duarte, and Benjamin Thorpe. Assisting artist for the project was Emily Grelck. CPAG is grateful to have collaborated with Enlace, Little Village Lawndale High School, and Universidad Popular.

Please visit the City as Site blog, which documents each day of this program and its artistic creations. An amazing catalogue documenting the project and its process will soon be available for purchase. Funded by: National Endowment for the Arts & Enlace.

The Intro, Bloomingdale Trail Mural

Bloomingdale Ave. & Whipple Ave.

Juan Carlos Perez, Patricia Sotarello and William Nicholson worked with a group of neighborhood youth from both Logan Square and Humboldt Park to create a new mural that explores the role of the Bloomingdale Trail in the community in conjunction with the role that women play in our daily lives past, present and future. The mural features community members' portraits and poetry from influential female authors. Funded by: Field Foundation & Chicago Foundation for Women

From Contemplation to Pride, Reavis Elementary School Mosaic,

834 E. 50th Street

Lead artist Carolyn Elaine worked with youth from Reavis Elementary School researching influential African American women of importance to the south side community of Bronzeville. Portraits of these women were photo-transferred onto tiles and incorporated into the mosaic piece.

The central image of the mosaic is Dr. Margaret Burroughs with excerpts from her monumental poem, What Shall I Tell My Children Who Are Black?, published in 1968. The section of the mural to Dr. Burroughs' right, anchored by an image of Jane Addams, displays prominent African American women of the past who were influences to Dr. Burroughs. The section to her left displays prominent women who were influenced by Dr. Burroughs. Funded by: Chicago Foundation for Women

Spirit of Hyde Park, Restoration and Renewal

57th St. & Lake Park Ave.

Bernard Williams restored and renewed the Spirit of Hyde Park, a historic Hyde Park mural between Lake Park and Stony Island on 57th Street. This iconic mural from the early 1970's depicts episodes in the history of Hyde Park over the previous 100 years. Bernard Williams worked with Astrid Fuller, the original artist, to identify sections of the original mural for integration into a new mural design that will carry the same name - the Spirit of Hyde Park. Bernard brought his design skills to bear on new research and understanding about the historic and evolving sense of Hyde Park. Funded by: University of Chicago.

Arc of Nature, Openlands Lakeshore Preserve

Ginny Sykes and Augustina Droze along with Jim Brenner worked with Openlands on this multi-media mural installation at the Bartlett Ravine within the Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve as a part of Openlands' Lakeshore Preserve Project. The installation includes non-woven painted elements, glass tile mosaics, and metal details that all together speak to the complexities and patterns that exist in the natural setting around the mural. Visit CPAG's Facebook page to see more images of this stunning and beautiful mural. Funded by: Openlands

Day Reporting Center, Cook County Prison Mural

The Cook County Day Reporting Center is a one-of-a-kind supervision program that provided services and direction for pre-trial, non-violent offenders. This community-based corrections program requires offenders to report to the center for daily sessions in drug and alcohol rehabilitation, violence prevention training, literacy and GED courses and job skills training.

Rahmaan Barnes worked with participants of the DRC program to create an inspirational, positive spray painted mural for the entrance of the center. Each participant contributed a drawing that was later collaged into the final mural. Funded by: Cook County Day Reporting Center.