Farewell Slideshow...

-Still photographs of urban artwork provided by Monica Macellari

Thank you, Pilsen!!

--Monica Macellari, Katherine Hall, Amanda Boleman, and Irish Mae Silvestre

TPP: Some Final Thoughts And a Thank You

As my classmates Amanda and Monica have already said quite eloquently, a great deal was learned and accomplished over the past few weeks. We have had the pleasure of working with a terrific artist and his site. We have learned an unbelievable amount, not just about social media, network and producing content for online news, but about a vibrant, fun, and all-around cool community. So I won't belabor the points made by my classmates (good points all). Instead, I would like, on behalf of the Pilsen Project, to extend my sincerest thanks to Pilsen and its artists for welcoming us into their community, taking time to talk with us, and sharing with us your enthusiasm for what you do and the neighborhood you call home.

A project like this is only as successful--or indeed as interesting--as the subject matter allows it to be. As our statistics showed over the past four weeks (almost 2,000 unique views in under four weeks!) The Pilsen Project was quite successful, if we do say so ourselves. We couldn't have accomplished that without the Pilsen art community, who effectively made this project as colorful and fun as it was.

So thank you Miguel Cortez, Jeriah Hildwine, Saul Aguirre, Alvaro Sahagun, Rebecca Beachy, Kate Bowen and all the other artists who took the time to speak with us about art, about community, and the subtle (and not so subtle!) intersections between the two. We could not have done this without you.



Katherine H.

Art in Other Forms: Music (Part 2 of 2)

Part of Pilsen’s appeal to local, independent musicians is its sheer number of recording studios, stages, and other venues for meeting musicians, producing, and playing music. The community's openness to new sounds, and its tight-knit DIY vibe makes this the ideal place to meet and work with like-minded folks in the music industry. Below is a sampler of some of those places. Check out the map for more listings!

ApeTrax Recording Studios--Located on the corner of 18^th and South Peoria, ApeTrax is a recording studio which caters to a wide variety of sounds. While their web page has not been updated recently, the images of their newly updated studio are impressive, as is their list of past clients. ApeTrax specializes in “providing artists with excellent quality audio in an affordable and relaxed environment.”

Mariachi Mexico Vivo—formed in 2005, this Pilsen-area group of eight gives a nod to the neighborhood’s Mexican roots. As their name suggests, Mariachi Mexico Vivo specializes in traditional mariachi music, an energetic and upbeat style native to Mexico. They have played for a number of events and at concerts, including a 2008 appearance with Gloria Trevi, a Mexican pop-rock musician, at the Congress Theater.

Miller Street Studios--Specializing in urban music and hip hop sound, Miller Street Studios heralds itself as offering the “highest quality recording capabilities for the lowest rates in Chicago.” They are active in social media, and their blog (managed by the owners and interns) is used not just to promote artists at the studio, but to discuss musical genre, aesthetics, and what makes "good" sound.

Click on the map below to see more studios, stores, and music venues!

Katherine H.

Art in Other Forms: Music (part 1)

It goes without saying that the term "Art" is not just limited to paintbrushes and sculpting clay. In the last few weeks alone, the Pilsen Project has profiled artists who use everything from cardboard to live-action sports to children's games as part of art.  And now, we will look at art that is pleasing not to the eye, but to the ear: music!

Pilsen is no stranger to music. Take a walk down any street through the neighborhood's center and chances are you will hear it drifting out of any one of the establishments that line the sidewalk. It's an interesting blend of sound and culture: the myriad lyrical sounds of Pilsen's Mexican heritage mixed with the punk and jazz of present-day Chicago. It is a sound that embraces old and new, tradition and the modern.

In October of last year, during Chicago Artist's Month, WBEZ's Catalina Maria Johnson wrote a profile on Pilsen's vibrant and thriving indie music scene, which was prominently featured in Pilsen's ninth annual 18th Street Pilsen Open Studios. Open Studios got its start in 2004 as an artist-run series of events which showcased artists and musicians from the Pilsen area and beyond.

In the article, Johnson's interviewees--including musicians, producers, singers, and art gallery curators--credited the neighborhood's willingness to come together, as well as their openness to newcomers, with the success of the indie music scene (and indeed the arts in general) in Pilsen. 

Visual artists and musicians often work together to promote each others work, whether sharing space for shows or collaborating on combined visual/audio projects. Music has grown up alongside visual art in Pilsen and, in many ways, the two have influenced each other.

One artist and musician, Victor Montañez, said it to Johnson best: “Pilsen is not a geographic location, it’s a state of mind, it’s a state of heart, it’s a state of art."

Katherine H.

Artist Snapshot: Alvaro Sahagun (Part 2 of 2)

(interview with Sahugan continued.....)
 

3.) What do you appreciate about the Pilsen art community?

I love Pilsen and its art community. I enjoy its urban environment, the cultural richness in the environment it’s around. When I was a young boy I had a lot of family in the little village / Pilsen area. I would love to spend weekends there and be around the liveliness of the community. The murals and overall ambience for me as a child was very welcoming.  I love the abundance of art galleries and their Friday exhibits.  I love the art work that is displayed as well, it’s great community that fosters growth for young artist that are at the beginning of their careers. The freshness and “cool” (contemporary style) artwork is fascinating to me.

4.) What galleries has your work been featured at?

My artwork has been featured at Union Street Gallery, Visual Arts Gallery, Moraine Valley College Art Gallery and at the Governors State University Library.

5.) Any upcoming shows??

Yes! My artwork Naturalized Citizens was just accepted to a National exhibition at Union Street Gallery (http://www.unionstreetgallery.org/) by Juror Elizabeth Whiting curator for the Union League Club of Chicago. I was also invited to display my art at the same location for an exhibition in April of 2012 titled Threshold. Threshold will provide me with 13 feet of wall space where I may display my art, it’s intended to highlight beginning artist.  I will also be in a student exhibition in May 2012 where the judge will be Jeff Zimmerman, Chicago muralist artist. 

For more information about my artwork please visit.

http://www.wix.com/lsahagun2/artanddesign

http://ispeakart.blogspot.com/

Twitter: @lsahagun2

-Monica M.

Artist Snapshot: Alvaro Sahagun (Part 1 of 2)

Images courtesy of Alvaro Sahagun

1.) Full name and quick bio....has art always been a part of your life? How did you get started?

My name is Luis Alvaro Sahagun I was born in Guadalajara, Mexico and raised in the urban setting of Chicago Heights, Illinois.  Like most children drawing cartoons and creating imaginative superheroes was my coping mechanism to my childhood problems.  Art has always been a part of my life; it is my medication. My artwork is indicative of how I see the world and how I battle with the difficulties of life.

2.) What is your favorite medium and why?

I am currently in love with creating art with cardboard. By using an urban material and a contemporary process I create a merge between academia and street art.  The outcome challenges the audience to re-evaluate their preconceived notions of which materials are accepted as beautiful in art.

-Monica M.

Art in Schools Part 2 of 2

After years of pushing to improve their standardized test scores drastically reduced the time spent on art classes, elementary schools are once again trying to bring those subjects back up to strength. Unfortunately, the grim economy has made it difficult to find the funding to hire new instructors, create new spaces for art classrooms, or provide sufficient supplies.

This is where the art community has stepped in to fill the gap.

Local nonprofits, museums, and community centers are partnering with schools to provide in-school instruction and after-school programs that provide art education students would otherwise not be able to receive.

In Chicago, there is extra emphasis not just on the importance of teaching children about art, but ensuring that they all have access to it, regardless of age or socioeconomic status. Organizations like Prosarts Studio, Marwen, the South Chicago Art Center and Gallery 37 provide space, materials, and classes for children and youth at low or no cost.

One organization in particular has taken the mission of providing quality art education to youth too heart. 

A girl works on part of a mural | photo courtesy of Yollocalli

Yollocalli Arts Reach, a youth art initiative associated with the National Museum of Mexican Art, began in 1997 with the vision to provide “equal access to communal, artistic, and cultural resources” to area youth who might not otherwise be able to afford costly extra-curricular art classes.

Yollocalli does not just serve students who want to pursue a career in the arts, either.

“Most of our students just simply enjoy making and learning about art and do not have many opportunities to explore it on their own,” Vanessa Sanchez, Yollocalli’s program director, said in an email. Sanchez said that the students who came in to Yollocalli ended the program feeling confident about their abilities not just to create a work of art, but effectively communicate with each other about their work, art in history, and their future goals.

“Our young people are given the space to create art based on their own stories and lifestyles,” Sanchez added. “We focus on giving the youth the tools necessary 'to realize their own vision'.”

Making clay art for animation | photo courtesy of Yollocalli

In 2009, Yollocalli was awarded the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award, recognizing the organization for its dedication to the young people in the community.

Yollocalli is not alone in Chicago. There are many schools, organizations and groups tapping into the city’s vibrant art culture to bring art and youth closer together, serving as a reminder that art is as vital a subject as literacy and science to a young person’s education.


Katherine H.

Pilsen Murals: Cooper Academy

OROZCO ACADEMY/COOPER ACADEMY (1991)

Photo courtesy of http://cuip.uchicago.edu

 --Located on 1645 West 18th Place, This elementary school is named after a Latino realist painter, Jose Clemente Orozco.
--Since 1991, art teacher Francisco Mendoza has worked with students to cover the building facade with glass tile work.  The mosaic portraits include political leaders like Cesar Chavez, artists Frida Kahlo, and muralists like Diego Rivera, David Siquieros and Jose Orozco.
--Some panels also depict religious sentiment--by displaying Aztec Sun and Moon gods, and devotion to international events like the Olympic Games.
-Monica M.

Art in Schools: Part 1 of 2

If you grew up in the 1990’s or earlier, chances are you took an art class as part of your elementary school curriculum. You may have dabbled with water colors, lamented covering your school uniform in oil pastels or—if you were lucky—got to spend a few coveted minutes on the oh so awesome pottery wheel. For many kids, art was a normal part of the school day, allotted as much time as science, language arts, or math.

Today, though, art’s place in school curriculums is sliding lower and lower on the priority scale.  Over the last two decades, the emphasis on standardized tests as benchmarks for success (and federal funding) has fostered schools and classrooms that focus on math and literacy with laser-like intensity, while subjects like art and music quietly languish to the back burner.

But far from being an “elective” subject that children don’t really need, research has proven time and again that exposing children to the arts in the classroom helps them develop critical life skills.

A 2007 study “Studio Thinking: The Real Benefits of Visual Arts Education” pointed out skills which were important not just for art, but other fields of study as well. Skills like the ability to develop and execute an idea and the ability to learn from—and move past—mistakes, were things which art classes taught students. The old adage “think outside the box” is learned in the art studio, where children are taught to envision something on a blank page or a shapeless lump of clay.

This, the study suggested, could be carried over to science, where students could be asked to create a hypothesis for an experiment and then try to achieve that outcome; or to history, where students could apply their imaginations to understanding events of the past, and possibilities of the future.

Equally importantly, though, are the mental and emotional development benefits of art. Students are taught patience, persistence, and how to connect with each other and the world around them on a deeper emotional level.

So what are schools doing to re-introduce the arts to the classroom? As it turns out, quite a bit. Schools are partnering with organizations and tapping into their local art communities to reestablish arts programs both in school and after school. Chicago, with its vibrant art ethos, is one of the cities reclaiming art for its schools.

Check Out Part 2 for the steps organizations are taking to bring art education to children and youth in Chicago.

Katherine H.

Guest Blogger: Artist Kate Bowen

In the midst of gearing up for Almost Always Getting it Right, artist Kate Bowen took a moment to write a guest blog post inviting everyone to her exhibition on Sunday, February 26th. 

I am pleased to announce an exhibition of my new work Almost Always Getting it Right at ACRE Projects.  Please join me for the opening this Sunday, February, 26th from 4-8pm.  There will be additional gallery hours Monday February 27th from 12-4pm. Set against a backdrop of a rural town surrounded by mountains, this exhibition is centered on an obsessive desire for physical perfection and the potential for such perfection to frustrate entropy and provide relief.  My work explores common language used to construct a narrative as a method for expressing desire, understanding failure and coping with loss.  In Almost Always Getting it Right I use still and moving images to focus on themes of beauty, repetition and impossibility. Guest Blogger, Kate Bowen For more information on Bowen & her art work, check out: katembowen.com Amanda B.

Pilsen Murals: "Wall of Hope"

 Next up...a vivid mural on the corner of 19th and Loomis in Pilsen...

Photo courtesy of madaboutthemural.wordpress.com

--Displayed on the brick facing of the San Jose Obrero Mission, a Latino nonprofit wellness shelter, lies an  image entitled “Wall of Hope”. Though the project was formally headed by artist Jesús “Chucho” Rodriguez... members from the Yollocalli Arts Reach also contributed to the brilliant frieze.

--Yollocalli Arts Reach, is an initiative of the National Museum of Mexican Art (located in the heart of Pilsen), generated to promote urban youth outreach.  The program works with emerging young artists to create innovative forms of artistic expression.

--Work created by the Yollocalli artists is featured all over the Chicago area....many building sites utilize artistic murals to depict social, racial, and political issues in the community.

-Monica M.

Pilsen Murals: " “Increíbles Las Cosas Q’ Se Ven”

Over the years, the people of Pilsen have nurtured a festive art community... that's a given....BUT... among the many galleries and museums scattered throughout the community, are other public forms of expression--MURALS.


Over the next few weeks, we will highlight some of these urban art billboards, the intriguing artists that created them, and their importance in this rich neighborhood.


First up... drum roll please... rat-a-tat-tat...


 “Increíbles Las Cosas Q’ Se Ven”--"Oh the things you'll see"
In 2001, Jeff Zimmermann, a native artist from Chicago, presented a three-panel building mural on the corner of 19th and Ashland in Pilsen. Like many of Zimmermann's pieces, the mural incorporates politics with community action, neighborhood personas, and religion. 

Photo courtesy of madaboutthemural.wordpress.com

Panel One-devoted to image of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Panel Two-features the working members of the community
Panel Three-displays political figures like Cesar Chavez hovering over the heads of students and successful career,minded individuals. 


This is just one of the many attractions that Pilsen has to offer, so if you haven't already...check it out...very large, very colorful, very cool.
-Monica M.

Catching up with Alex Cohen (Part 1 of 2)

Alex Cohen: "Art kept me out of getting into trouble."

He may only be 22 years old but Alex Cohen appears to be wiser beyond his years. This Chicago native creates pieces that are as bold and colorful as his style. We first spotted this young up-and-comer at Antena Gallery's ‘Short Court’ but we caught up with Cohen to talk more about his work, upcoming projects and why art has helped to completely transform his life.

What made you realize you wanted to become an artist?

After I dropped out of high school I had a lot of free time on my hands. I would frequent museums and ride the trains alone for hours and just walk around downtown listening to music. I would see things that interested me and I guess I just tried to replicate that in my free time. I also used to make art with my mom when I was younger and it's also just in the culture of skateboarding. A lot of the older people I looked up to made art as well. It was always there. It was really just after dropping out of high school that I really started exploring art again. It kept me out of getting in trouble.



Who’s your all-time favorite artist and why?

I have a few favorite artists. I'll give you three: Matisse, Bob Thompson, and Chris Johanson. These artists really speak to me through their inventiveness of material and process. They all also use bright colors, which is something I do in my practice. Color is pure.



How would you describe your style?

Fun. I hope that's what people get out of it - that life is fun and exciting. Life isn't a sad long miserable process it's actually really fun you just have to surround yourself with the right people to enjoy its full “funness”! But yeah when I create a work I try to think how fun I can make it look and feel.

(to be continued) - Irish S

Chicago Youth Art Programs

As part of a larger article on about youth art programs in Chicago (up later this week), we have been researching various institutions and non-profit organizations that are offering art programs for children and youth here in Chicago. Some of the programs are very nifty, so we decided to compile a list! Check out their websites for plenty of excellent information.

ProsArts Studio--located in the Pilsen area, this organization has been providing arts-in-education and community building services for 30 years. They work in neighborhood schools as well as run programs outside the classroom.

Yollocalli Arts Reach--another Pilsen-area organization, affiliated with the National Museum of Mexican Art, Yollocalli is a youth-oriented outreach which combines creativity, heritage, and "urban art practices" to help children and young adults become engaged and active within their communities.

Marwen--located in the River North neighborhood, Marwen provides visual arts education for Chicago youth, as well as college and career programs such as college counseling, arts and study field trips,  and scholarship and internship opportunities.

The South Chicago Art Center--located in South Chicago, this free center provides in-school and after-school programs for children and teens, an award-winning Artist's Garden (created and  tended by the children in the program), and field trips to art museums, galleries, and other spaces.

Art Institute of Chicago--The list would not be complete without mentioning the Art Institute's contribution to providing art programs for kids and teens. From studio workshops, to a Museology program, to the Teen Lab, there is something for everyone.

These are just a handful of the many great youth arts programs around the city.

Katherine H.

More to come...

Be on the lookout this week for additional, local artist bios...as well as some info on some extravagant murals popping up in Pilsen!

Stay tuned.

-Monica M.

Challenge!!

ATTENTION Pilsen community members...
We want to see your artwork! Whether you are an amateur or a professional, provide us with some links/images/website/info of your work.  We would love to highlight your efforts with an artist profile on our blog!
--You can post your material in the comment box below, or follow us on Twitter!
Monica M.

Featured Event: 2nd Fridays Gallery Night

2nd Fridays Gallery Night  March 9th, 2012 - Chicago Arts District at S. Halsted and 18th Streets The Chicago Arts District hosts "2nd FRIDAYS Gallery Night", the monthly opening receptions at the galleries and artists' studios centered around South Halsted and 18th Streets in Chicago. The receptions begin at 6:00pm and run until 10:00pm. Join the 30 creative spaces in the Chicago Arts District at South Halsted and 18th Streets, as they showcase an exciting display of art and artists from Chicago and beyond. This unique art community opens its doors, free of charge, and lets you get up close and personal with the art and artists. Pick up a map at the information center at 1821 S. Halsted and explore the city's most vibrant art community, the Chicago Arts District, where people meet ART! (from Chicagoartsdistrict.org) -Monica M.