What does it mean to live in an arts-rich neighborhood? What does it mean to have a community artist living on your block? Pillsbury House + Theatre’s Art Blocks project seeks to answers these questions for residents of the Powderhorn Park, Central, Bryant and Bancroft neighborhoods.
Xavier Tavera, for example, is taking large format photographic portraits of every family on his block. The set of portraits will be exhibited in a local gallery, and neighbors will be invited to an opening reception. After, each family will take their portrait home.
Art Blocks selected 12 artists like Xavier to design an art activity specifically for the people on their block. Throughout the project, artists work to bring together 100 to 200 neighbors by engaging them in the creative process.
After these projects are complete, Art Blocks artist hosts will lead their neighbors on a group field trip to another arts activity in the four neighborhoods. They might come to see Marcus Gardley’s the road weeps, the well runs dry Or they might attend a gallery opening at Third Place, or workshops at the Yarn Garage or the Chicago Avenue Fire Arts Center, or find any of the many other arts opportunities we share in these amazing neighborhoods.
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photo of Nikki and Rue Mates by Xavier Tavera, 2013