My life has taken a turn toward the artistic recently, and that's a pretty good thing.Last night I attended the opening of the bridgeArtFair exhibit down at the Merchandise Mart. My cousin Jen Blazina has a wonderful installation called Recollection that is being hosted by the Marx-Saunders Gallery. It's a very creative piece that uses old photographs and school desks to delve into themes of memory and identity (see photo at left). There were many other interesting pieces of various subjects and media on display at the Fair, and I encourage you to check it out. The people-watching is quite fun there as well.
Continuing the theme of organized art, I'm helping to put together a festival that's a little more grass-roots. It's the eleventh annual Chicago Labor and Arts Festival and it kicks off next week. The festival showcases art for and by working people of all stripes (yes, it's a category that's intentionally quite broad), and there are events happening throughout the city during the month of May (click here for the full schedule). The theme this year is Borders and Barriers, and with the current political environment of hyper-nationalism and immigrant scapegoating it should be quite fertile soil for the artistic mind to take root.
Knock down a personal barrier, cross a mental or physical border and join me for some wonderful art this weekend and all next month.
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