Project Respect
“Wall of Respect,” a 20-by-60-foot mural painted on a tavern, honored more than 50 African-American heroes, including Ray Charles, W.E.B. Du Bois, Dick Gregory, Charlie Parker, Bill Russell, Nina Simone and Malcolm X. (Robert Abbott Sengstacke/Getty)
ABOUT PROJECT RESPECT
February 17 - October 31, 2017
DuSable Museum will honor the 50th anniversary of the 1967 dedication of the Wall of Respect (WOR), which launched the Community Mural Movement (CMM) in the U.S. Titled Project RESPECT, this will include an on-site installation at the Museum, educational and public programming, and dialogues. This will reflect the historic impact of (WOR) on Chicago's history, the Black Arts Movement, and the culture of people who, in an effort to define their own identity, redefined the value and purpose of public art. This exhibition will serve as a hub for projects radiating out into the city. Curated by interdisciplinary artist, curator, and cultural producer Janice Bond, collaborating artists include
Arthur Wright
Max Sansing
Sam Kirk
SLANG
Sonja Henderson
Tony Smith
PROJECT RESPECT ARTIST STUDIO
This space was made for members of the community. In here you are invited to reflect upon the history of the Wall of Respect, to see the process of making a work of public art and to share your ideas.
In cities around the world, outdoor mural paintings and other forms of public art are utilized as both a means of beautification and place-making, often replacing bleak or less desirable exteriors with inspiring color and design. Such aesthetically and economically serviceable ventures also highlight and broaden opportunities for community engagement and activation. By providing these spaces and making them accessible, an inter-generational platform for communication, discourse, and reflection is revealed. The capacity to both independently and collectively develop, re-calibrate, and own narratives about self, community, and environment is amplified.
To create such work sustainably, beyond the physicality one must seriously consider the art of collaboration. To collaborate is to explore various ways of creating and working, as the landscape shifts within both internal and external environments. PROJECT RESPECT examines the impact of developing collective priorities, aesthetics, and perspectives as artists, expressing one’s own voice and cultural narrative within an interlaced yet autonomous creative unit.
This project is part of the Year of Public Art, a citywide 50x50 initiative honoring two of our most seminal public artworks -- the Picasso in Daley Plaza and the Wall of Respect.
THANK YOU
The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE), Chicago Public Art Group (CPAG), StoryCorps, Storyographers, Artists, The Family of Norman Parish Sr., and the Chicago community for your participation, partnership, and support.