This project focuses on telling the complex story of Black architecture in Chicago. I focus on the changing racial demographics of the city over time, the historical and personal connections I have with particular structures, and the harms of disinvestment both in the structures and the greater community. I chose to include an overall map of Chicago from which I could zoom into individual structures while giving them locational context, race demographic maps from different periods to show both the racial and economic context, and photographs of memorials giving context to the effects of disinvestment and community grief.
When reflecting upon the story I wanted to tell, I chose the medium of embroidery and photography in order to intertwine history, architecture, and race. In my practice I use embroidery frequently to honor the passed-down craft of the women artists in my family, and to continue to tell different kinds of stories through threads and fabrics. I utilized both hand stitching and machine embroidery to connect individual buildings to the overall city identity while adding my own personal landmarks. Wood burning brings a natural and homey feeling to otherwise sterile data collection methods, which I used to highlight the 77 Chicago neighborhoods.
Photography is an essential part of the storytelling of my family, and I wanted to communicate the grief we and many other families have experienced losing a family member to violence. These photographs are of the numerous temporary memorials you may find placed throughout the city of Chicago.
Mini Captions
Garfield Park Field house-
Built in 1929 as an administrative building for the park, the field house divides East and West Garfield park, and with its Spanish Baroque style calls back to a time of wealth and development in this area. The building features recreational spaces and is currently used for programming and community meetings.
Stone Temple Baptist Church-
Originally a Synagogue, Stone Temple Baptist Church in North Lawndale hosted a stream of Civil Rights speakers and activists in the 1960’s, including Dr. Martin Luther King who lived a few blocks away where I now work. The Chicago Freedom Movement designated the church as the West Side “Action Center”.
Fred Hampton House-
Chairman Fred Hampton was a prolific young Black Panther leader that was assassinated by the FBI at age 21 in 1969 on the same block I live on. This depicts his family home in Maywood that recently received landmark status.
Humboldt Park Flag-
These 60-foot tall flags signify the entrances to Paseo Boricua or Division Street in Humboldt Park. They are a symbol of the resiliency in the face of gentrification for the neighborhood, and became a landmark in 2022.
Robert Taylor Homes-
Built in 1962 during the Urban Renewal era, the Robert Taylor Homes were a public housing development in Bronzeville. After this failed governmental experiment, the structures became dangerous and were torn down.
Timeline
2022
March
Project Proposal
“What does Chicago’s Black Architecture look like?
Often referred to as the most segregated city in the US, Chicago has a very strong example of Black neighborhoods. Within these historic neighborhoods there is iconic architecture of many different styles and periods of time. Although commonly isolated to the south and west sides there can be examples of Black architecture found all over the city. The definition of “Black architecture” is something I am defining as a structure that is monumentally touched by the lives of black people. While there are very few examples of analysis done on the residential structures of Black Chicago, I feel that this deep dive is impactful and can highlight a variety of personal, historical, and societal conditions.
Resources for this project include various writings from the UIC library and archives on Chicago history involving: redlining, housing injustice, public housing initiatives, money management, organizations serving the community, and more. All of these elements help dictate the background to the past and current conditions of Black Chicago architecture. Other resources could be first person sources such as: personal histories and stories, historical photographs, etc. Another avenue of gathering information could be archives compiled by community members that include things like: home videos, community art projects, annual or community events, and familial trees. Methods that could assist with gathering or presenting this information could include: maps, interviews, sketches or illustrations, 3d models, salvaged materials, embroidery or other crafts.
There are various goals or benefits this project could have. This project would serve Black Chicagoans, south and west siders, homeowners and their descendants. Possible final forms of this project could include: a documentary, a photobook, an exhibition, journal with sketches, interviews, podcast. The ideal venue could include a gallery or museum, a classroom, a journal/ publication, an online forum/archive. “
October
For my capstone project I am focusing on Black architecture in Chicago and the influence surrounding it. Now this means many things, but I would like to analyze: the physical structures (and their changing over time), ownership of these pieces of architecture (redlining, predatory loans, public housing, etc), and the culture that surrounds them (neighborhood norms, politics, transportation, community, etc). I will be beginning with Bronzeville and continuing throughout the city to various neighborhoods to study the architecture and the history that comes with it. This will begin by studying the “landmarks” and the communities’ relationship to them throughout time. Telling the story of these locations will bring many recurring themes to light and comment on things like: race, poverty, community, collective power, organizing, and family. Chicago has a very long history that deserves to be told from the south and west sides of the loop. I am looking for this to be largely a narrative based project assisted by visuals of data, structures, and maps. I would like to focus my imagery mostly on post-great migration south and west side architecture and its evolution into today. The effect these relocations had on black families can be seen through generations and community relationships. There are many sources I have researched from like fire maps, property records, personal stories and photographs, other black metropolis projects, census records, redlining projects research, historian tours, and more. I would really love for this project to be a multimedia piece with physical arts works, printed data visuals, oral histories/narratives, and digital works with videography and photographs. I will work with my photography to collage images of these landmarks to capture the feelings surrounding the history of the place. Manipulating data maps of various structural systems will begin the conversation surrounding the background information for the areas. I will be including recorded interviews and oral histories to be shown in the exhibition. Included alongside photography of the landmark I include multimedia visualizations of the architecture. The narrative will tell the story of “why the history keeps them there?”
Spring ’23
This was a time for creation for me. All of the highlighted structures came to me through various forms and connected with me in stories that needed to be told. Developing the maps over time and of Chicago through different lenses started to take shape and gave context to the overall location of this piece. Memorial site photos were taken with moments of reflection and honor for the souls that we lost.
