Drawn Lives

By CDH, CAH,  AG, JN

For a quick introduction to this assignment; A small group of three people and I were asked to design an art piece for a large wall near our school building. The piece was supposed to relate to the community and we chose its history. Our combined efforts created the proposed art piece below. The next piece to read, the artists statement, was written by the whole group but split up by category.     

CDH, CAH, AG, JN. A Changed Place. (2019)

Brief history of community:

This art piece is for those who aren't aware of the complex history of the Near Northside. For the last week of class, we were researching Near North Side as it was considered the first "bad" neighborhood in Chicago, and we knew it by its other name, "Little Hell." For a brief history it housed Italian & German immigrant in 1820 and had multiple gang wars throughout its lifetime. As different groups such as Puerto Rican and African-American entered the community, the original members gave backlash as hard as the could. Groups slowly became neutral and the violence cool down during WWII. After the war, the housing project were fully built and policies were made to segregate the European and African American communities. The Italian city left for the suburbs, and the "Cabrini Green" era was born, bringing back violence not seen since 80-90 years ago. Despite the hard push from the community residents, the city during the 90s decided to destroy the community, pushing gentrification and building "New City." The original residents were relocated with new residents aware of the history of before.

Needs of the neighborhood:

For the project, we went around the neighborhood taking pictures and writing responses from the residents of New City. We found out that most were oblivious to the history and didn’t live in the area because it was too expensive. One person consider the area not to be a community because the people living there kept to themselves. Some also didn’t enjoy how the streets felt artificial while others felt great about the neighborhood because of its lack of conflict. It was a contrast between ages because of the overall ignorance from the young. There was also remorse of the Cabrini Green buildings and questions on what happened to its people.


Describe art piece elements:

In the overall layout of the piece shows the old Cabrini Green on one side being torn down and replaced with a brand new shopping and housing district renamed “Lincoln Park”. Cabrini is portrayed on one side as a place in need of reconstruction with promise of renewal but as the bottom of that side indicates the former residents were displaced. This low-income housing meant a lot to the occupants and the destruction of it caused much communal dismay as it transferred to what it is now. Lincoln Park as shown, is now a wealthy, confined, and quiet, business and residential area. The sign at the top of the right side is to show the welcoming of Lincoln Park by the city hoping for an improvement. Moving to the center of the piece we see the church that has seen it all. The church is not meant to be religious in any way, rather it is a centerpiece that tells this whole story in itself. This church during the time of Cabrini, was covered with a mural and the building was widely used by the community. The mural was unfortunately white washed and is only slightly visible through the paint. Though we tried to preserve a likeness to it, the original can never be replaced. Lastly the man in the very middle; The position he is in conveys resilience and sorrow. Resilience was greatly displayed by the people of Cabrini to keep their land and community. Sorrow for only being able to save one building that was eventually neglected by most; But still cherished in the hearts of many. 

How the art piece addresses the needs of the community: 

This piece addresses the needs of the newer residents of Lincoln Park. During several interviews, older residents wanted to know the history and younger residents didn’t care for the history. Not only did we show the destruction of Cabrini Green, but also the large brand stores that now sit on top of what used to be. The history of these communities includes these pieces, so the brands are marked on the right, taking away the “homey” feeling that could have been there in Lincoln Park . Overall, we tried to address the need of education for the newcomers and remind the old comers of Cabrini. The piece is also a memorial or dedication to what was once known as Cabrini Green and how it was basically almost taken out of existence.


For the project, we went around the neighborhood, taking pictures and writing responses from the residents of New City. We found out that most were oblivious to history and didn't live in the area because it was too expensive. One person considers the area not to be a community because the people living there kept to themselves. Some didn't enjoy the streets felt artificial, while others felt great about the neighborhood because of the lack of conflict. It was a contrast between ages because of the overall ignorance of the young. There was also remorse of the Cabrini Green buildings and questions on what happened to its people.

This piece addresses the needs of ignorance and remorse. Not only did we show the destruction of Cabrini Green, but also the large brand stores that now sit on top of what used to be. The history of these communities includes these brands, and we decided to show them to take a "homey" feeling that could have been there in Lincoln Park. Overall, we tried to address the need for education for the newcomers and remind the old comers of Cabrini. The piece is a memorial to what was Cabrini Green and how it was almost taken out of existence.


Thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope it gave you new information to think about.