+ Carl Sandburg by Henry Varnum

A “Poet for the People” and Uptown’s Unsung Masses

By Renae Mijares Encinas

Located inside the Uptown Post Office at 4850 N. Broadway, Henry Varnum Poor’s “Carl Sandburg” mural was commissioned in 1943 to represent and celebrate the history and people of Chicago. Though often attributed as a Works Progress Administration (WPA) piece, further research reveals that it is more likely that this mural was selected through the Section of Fine arts.[1] Both established as part of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal programs and active concurrently, the former was directed towards alleviating the mass unemployment of the Great Depression and providing economic relief to those impacted, while the latter focused on procuring exceptional murals depicting the American life and its ordinary, toiling people in Post Offices across the nation to boost public morale.

The imagery of America’s rural, farming life during the Great Depression is juxtaposed against the opulent art deco architecture of the Uptown Post Office (built-in 1939). The dissonance between the building’s design and brass fixtures against the Great Depression-era mural reflects Uptown’s own economic tribulations. Once a prominent entertainment destination catering to primarily wealthy, white residents with its ballrooms, theaters, commercial center, and grandiose buildings during the early 1900’s, Uptown was greatly impacted and transformed during the Great Depression. Following the post-WWII housing crisis, many of Uptown’s luxury homes were sectioned off and converted into small apartments, rooming housing, and boarding hotels to increase capacity and profits. The high vacancy rates and comparatively low costs of rental units/rooms in Uptown opened the neighborhood up as a port-of-entry for many low-income, displaced, migrant communities, including Appalachian whites, Native Americans, Latinos, African Americans, and Asians.[2]

Poor, who was already a nationally recognized painter and ceramist at the time, chose former Uptown-area resident and nationally acclaimed poet, folk musician, and political activist Carl Sandburg as his focal point for the mural. Sandburg is depicted at the right of the mural, carrying a guitar, alongside farmers working the field under the glaring sun. The words “From the sun and the fruits of the black soil poetry and song sprang” call out from the top of the mural. Crops, resembling hands, also appear to be rising from the earth’s soil. The parable represents Sandburg’s working-class origins and emergence into a poet and folk musician. Born in Galesburg, Illinois in 1878, to a poor, Swedish immigrant family, Sandburg left school and started working at age 13 to support his family. During his teenage years, he took up various jobs including shoe-shining, delivering milk and newspapers, laying bricks, and dishwashing, before serving in Puerto Rico during the Spanish-American war.[3] After returning from the war, he attended Lombard College, where he developed his knack for writing and published his first volume of poetry titled Reckless Ecstasy in 1904. In 1912, he moved to Chicago and resided at 4646 North Hermitage, just a few blocks away from the Uptown Post Office. It was at this residence where he wrote “Chicago Poems,” which is a volume of poetry that depicts the plight of the working people and government corruption. Now designated as a landmark, the owner of the former Sandburg home, Susan Sattell, regards him as a “poet for the people, for the working people, the working class.”[4] 

Although Poor’s mural is centered on the life of Sandburg, the land-based and working-class struggles that it depicts are also demonstrative of Uptown’s unsung residents whose lives and stories have not seen the acclaim attributed to Sandburg—whose legacy touts three Pulitzer Prizes. Dr. Paul Siegel’s “Origins of a ‘Submerged’ Tradition” critiques how Uptown’s multi-racial, working-class communities, and their multiplicitous histories and opposition to displacement have been submerged beneath the dominant mass culture.[5] In line with his analysis, submerged beneath the focal point of literary icon Sandburg, are the generations of Uptown’s poor residents who arrived in Uptown after having been displaced from their land and homes as a result of several different forces throughout the 1940s to 1970s, including Japanese American incarceration, American Indian relocation, deindustrialization and modernization of the coal mining industry, and Operation Bootstrap in Puerto Rico. One of Uptown’s submerged figures whose legacy rises up from the mural is Peggy Terry, a poor, white southerner woman whose family struggled and labored in the oil, coal mining, agriculture, and cotton industries during her childhood and Great Depression years. After moving to Chicago in 1956, she, like many Uptown residents, faced housing barriers and poor living conditions, unemployment, and discrimination. She eventually joined Uptown’s Jobs or Income Now (JOIN) Community Union, where she grew into a leader of the movement for welfare and housing rights against slumlords and displacement. After teaching herself how to type, she also developed into a prolific writer and became the editor of JOIN’s Firing Line newspaper. From the southern soil that Terry’s family labored on, also sprang poetry and song. Thus, while overshadowed by Sandburg’s focus, Poor’s Great Depression mural is also reflective of Uptown’s unsung residents who have arduously labored, struggled, and resisted throughout their lives, while devising creative and resilient practices and strategies for survival, community-building, and joy-making. 

“I am the people––the mob––the crowd––the mass. 

Do you know that all the great work of the world is done through me? 

I am the workingman, the inventor, the maker of the world's food and  

clothes.

I am the audience that witnesses history. The Napoleons come from me and

      the Lincoln. They die. And then I send forth more Napoleons and

      Lincolns.

I am the seed ground. I am a prairie that will stand for much plowing.

      Terrible storms pass over me. I forget. The best of me is sucked out and

      wasted. I forget. Everything but Death comes to me and makes me work

      and give up what I have. And I forget.

Sometimes I growl, shake myself and spatter a few red drops for history to

      remember. Then––I forget.

When I, the People, learn to remember, when I, the People, use the lessons of

      yesterday and no longer forget who robbed me last year, who played me

      for a fool––then there will be no speaker in all the world say the name:

      ‘The People,’ with any fleck of a sneer in his voice or any far-off smile of

      derision.

The mob––the crowd––the mass––will arrive then.

––Carl Sandburg, “I Am the People, the Mob.” Chicago Poems. 1916.

+ About the Author: Renae Mijares Encinas

Renae Mijares Encinas is a Gender and Women’s Studies major and Global Asian Studies minor at the University of Illinois-Chicago. They are a community organizer, gardener, emerging farmer, and people’s educator.

+ X-Men By Unknown Artist

"X-men": How We X-pand Our Capacities for Building Solidarity and Community

By Cyril Dela Rosa

Histories of design-based organizing have been instrumental to the building of community within Uptown. The concept for the Hank Williams Village is one example of the Northside community planning housing resources for local white Appalachian residents who were displaced and in need of support. Such context has expanded into more implicit examples of solidarity-focused, placemaking design among its neighbors throughout Uptown. The mural “X-Men,” formerly found at 4455 N Broadway, strikingly represents how such activism manifests in public art. While information cannot be found about the artist responsible for this piece, journalist Robert Loerzel was able to document the mural through a photo he posted on Twitter on July 6th, 2020. This mural and several other bodies of work were created throughout Uptown last summer as a statement in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. And while the pop-up display of solidarity has since been taken down (Loerzel posted about its removal on October 18, 2020), the impact of its imagery can still be seen and discerned through the preservation of its collective memory online.

The mural “X-Men” is striking as imagery that represents many different facets of the Uptown community. In its nature as a piece made in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, the choice to depict X-Men is significant for various reasons. X-Men, in their world on the comic book pages, were framed as “Mutants” who were anomalies and outcasts of society. Popular characters like The Wolverine were ostracized because they were freaks that could never be accepted because they possessed odd powers/mutations. By coming together as the X-Men, these Mutant superheroes find a community and strength in numbers as students under their teacher - the namesake Professor X. The X-Men were also significant to the world of Marvel as they were introduced as a diverse and inclusive representation of heroes from various backgrounds and identities. 

Superheroine Ororo Munroe (or rather her alias Storm) is specifically depicted in this mural. The choice of Storm may have been done because of her identity as one of the first Black female characters in comics. She has been a leader of the X-Men and fights alongside them for ensuring peace and equality among mutants and humans. Additionally, her background as an immigrant child born to a Kenyan mother and American father in Egypt signifies the many transnational Uptown residents who Storm represents. The premise of how Storm is written is not without its faults. She is rather exoticized as a Black woman who lived upon the streets of Cairo as well as the plains of the Serengeti. However, the root of what Storm fundamentally represents in this mural is the empowerment and uplifting of Black voices, especially those who have been formerly outcasted like the X-Men.

With this context in mind, the “X-Men” mural beautifully displays this connection of Storm’s character, the X-Men, and a hopeful message for Uptown as a whole. Solidarity is emphasized for Uptown’s multiethnic community to consider similar frameworks of unity and compassion that the X-Men had utilized. As Storm signifies the positionality of an immigrant woman of color, viewers may be encouraged to stop and think about such intersectionality lived by so many individuals within Uptown or other spaces. And so, despite its eventual removal from its spot on Broadway, the mixture of black, yellow, white, purple, and green splotches and lines may still resonate for all that view its image within this Dis/Placements project. The mural possesses the ability to evoke solidarity through an allegory to characterized experiences of Storm and the X-Men. The mural additionally stands in a contradictory fashion to placemaking intentions of the costly ‘asia on argyle’ sign discussed by writer Adeshina Emmanuel[1]. This sign was created through thousands of TIF dollars to emblemize commercial prosperity, only to receive mixed responses concerning its design and necessity. “X-Men,” however, is a seemingly pop-up art piece intended to engage viewers in neighborhood-wide unity. It is then the ability of Uptown residents to decipher this context and interpret frameworks aimed towards the building of community and solidarity against ongoing evils like police brutality.

[1] Emmanuel, Adeshina. 2013. “City Defends $260k ‘Asia on Argyle’ Sign.”https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20130213/uptown/city-defends-asia-on-argyle-sign-despite-design-ignoring-guidelines/

+ About the Author: Cyril Dela Rosa

Cyril Dela Rosa (he/they): I’m a third-year Urban Studies student with minors in Global Asian Studies and Geographic Information Systems at UIC. I aspire to build community with my fellow classmates, neighbors, and overall human beans as we seek to grow new frameworks for our everyday. I also primarily research topics related to (but not exclusively) socio-spatial disparities, affordable housing, gentrification, public transportation, and land-use. I really value being able to engage similar issues through this project’s perspective of oral histories/narratives.

+ HowWillYouRise by Jenny Vyas

Rise and be Reborn

By KylaRose Sybico Schulman

Fear, loneliness, disgust, sadness, rage… These are all human emotions that we have dealt with at some point in our life.   Whether it was mourning over the death of a loved one, stubbing your toe, or not knowing when you will have your next meal the severity and depth of these emotions differ between situations and the person it’s affecting.  And although these negative emotions can bring us down, some question that we can ask ourselves is where do I go from here?  How can I take these negative emotions and rise towards a better tomorrow? Although I don’t have the answer to these questions I hope you can be inspired by an artist and her work who takes these complex emotions and channels them into creating something beautiful. Born in India, Jenny Vyas moved to Chicago after high school to attend the University of Illinois at Chicago.  She never planned on becoming an artist, and it wasn’t until the sudden end of her marriage engagement that she happened to find her calling as a contemporary fine artist.^[1] Her work is profoundly affected by the beauty in complex human emotions which is translated through her paintings. Much of her work takes on semi-abstracts of human silhouettes and alternate figures in the half-light, which are all drawn from reality, personal experiences, and memories. 

Jenny Vyas created her mural HowWillYouRise around September and October of 2019. You can find the mural at Clifton Public Street Art Gallery on the Corner of Clifton/Broadway Streets in Uptown, Chicago (Across the Cornerstone Community Outreach Shelter). The mural captures the essence of the Phoenix and its symbolism of strength and renewal.^[2]  The Phoenix is a legendary mythical creature that burns to death but rises from its own ashes and is reborn more powerful than before.  In the same way, the mural encapsulates this story through the big long wings that spread from the woman’s back to symbolize her rise from adversity, pain, and hate in life. From my perspective, I noticed that the colors that are used in the mural such as orange, yellow, and red happen to be typical colors of the phoenix’s feathers. The dark blue background may also represent the darkness that someone may be dealing with, where one must look to their own inner strength to rise to the challenge so that they may break free and light their own path in life.

This message of being able to rise from the darkness that one is dealing with really resonated with me, as I have been dealing with my own darkness.  My mother recently passed away following the outbreak of covid-19. This past year has been not only hard for myself but for everyone around the world due to the pandemic. My mother and her recent passing had left a big hole in my heart, which most people who have lost a loved one knows is not one that can be easily filled. However, this mural reminds me that although she is not with us in person, she is still with me in spirit. My mother would always say that she is the wind beneath our wings that encourages us to fly higher and soar. HowWillYouRise reminds me that even though my heart may have a hole, my mother’s light will always be with me to bring me strength as a guide up in heaven.

Not only is the mural captivating, but HowWillYouRise also embodies the heart of Uptown and its history of race and class struggles where organizations like the Original Rainbow Coalition (which included activist groups such as the Black Panthers, Young Patriots, and Young Lords)  rose from the oppression and hate they were facing to come together and fight for their rights. The Black Panthers even started their own community-driven programs called Survival Programs which included, free breakfast for children, free clinics, free food, and clothing programs^[3]. In the same way that the Rainbow Coalition prioritized being involved with the community, in this piece Vyas also took inspiration and involvement with the community homeless shelter that the mural was painted on. The paint splatters found in HowWillYouRise were painted on by the women and children that are housed at the Sylvia Homeless Shelter. Sometimes we forget to look to others for help and inspiration. In a society where independence is prioritized, it is a helpful reminder to know that you are not alone in the world. The paint splatters created by the women and children of the Sylvia shelter show the beauty that is created when a community comes together to work towards a common goal. In her time of darkness, Jenny Vyas used her art as a medium to not only heal herself through vulnerability but also help to heal and inspire others through her work. If you are interested in learning more about Jenny Vyas and her work you can visit her page at https://jennyvyas.com/about-jennyvyash.You can also visit her Instagram and Facebook page @Jennyvyas.If you are interested in learning more about the History of Uptown and the Rainbow Coalition, PBS made an amazing documentary that you can watch on their website:

https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/videos/the-first-rainbow-coalition/

+ About the Author: KylaRose Schulman

My name is KylaRose Sybico Schulman (she/her/hers) and I am an Asian American Undergraduate senior at the University of Illinois Chicago and Honors College. I am currently majoring in Psychology and minoring in Global Asian Studies while also pursuing a pre-medical track. Some organizations and programs that I have been involved in at UIC include the UIC’s Honor society, Colleges Against Cancer, Active Minds, LeaderShape, and  UIC’s Undergraduate Student Government. When I am not doing schoolwork or extracurriculars, my hobbies include expanding my culinary horizons, finding new places to eat, and spending quality time with my cat. My goal is that through my education and life experiences that I am able to continually give back to the community in as many ways that I can.

+ Ode to Eleonor by Steven Teller

When Nature Calls, Home Answers

By Yunick Cataytay

I have always felt a connection with nature; it feeds my soul to the very core of my being. When I am out for a brisk walk in my neighborhood, nearby community parks and county forest preserves, I feel the wind touching my skin. A sensorial poke of invitation to sulk in fresh air to fill that void inside my lungs with mood boosting chemicals, releasing happiness throughout my veins. I see trees dancing with the rhythm of the wind passing by to say ‘hello’ to every living thing in motion: children playing catch while their parents are having a little chat, a truck driver doing his deliveries, squirrels climbing up trees, and birds chirping. Trees are also capable of communicating with everyone. They wave their branches to motion a quick ‘Hi’ and ‘Goodbye’, and sometimes they like to give little trinkets of appreciation like acorns, pinecones, an apple, and even flowers. Personally, I look at flowers like someone’s favorite perfume in their vanity. Aside from brightly colored petals, flowers aromatize every mass and space. It creates that sweet and cozy feeling in nature.

But nature is not the only element on Earth, capable of invigorating sensorial experience. The public mural work in Uptown Chicago, An Ode to Eleanor[1] released by Steven Teller in 2019 creates that comforting and serene feeling, despite its location in between brick walls, high-rise apartments, honking cars, and busy streets. Although An Ode to Eleanor does not whisper to my ear like a bird or brush against my skin like the wind, by simply looking at the elements of nature in this mural, I get a generalized feeling of experiencing nature like taking a hike in the middle of a bushy forest. I can imagine two birds chirping in a distance and the smell of flowers swaying with the wind. The moment I laid my eyes upon this work online, I felt refreshed after a rather busy day of homework on a Sunday night. Initially, I thought the colors red and blue represented the Chicago flag. I can only assume the species of the two birds and blue flowers in this mural, at some point, populated this area of Uptown. Hence, perhaps it was also meant to commemorate nature, lost in urbanization. Or maybe, it is a representation of finally being at home. Somehow, An Ode to Eleanor feels familiar. I used to live in the Philippines, and in my neighborhood, there is a tall, metal arch with ‘Welcome to La Trinidad Village’ molded in the middle. Though this is not a gated community, this arch signifies an entryway to someone’s home. I remember a warm sense of relief every time my school bus drives closer to this arch, after a tiring day at school and as I look forward to eating hot meals my mother cooked, taking a nap, and watching my favorite cartoons. This arch represents a place of comfort, community, and home. Like An Ode to Eleanor, painted against a brick building, home to residents of Chicago. I can only imagine children, crossing the streets and galloping for joy on their way home, as they see a glimpse of this mural. This feeling may also be true with adults. After a stressful day at work, this will most likely remind them that they are finally back home where they can watch Netflix, eat popcorn, talk to their friends, and cook a nice warm dinner. Although I do not live in this area, this mural gave a sense of comfort. Clearly, An Ode to Eleanor will eternally remain a part of Chicago’s area map. It will trigger memories, good or bad, from the past for years to come by. It is a locally known sign that will forever represent home.

+ About the Author: Yunick Cataytay

Yunick Cataytay is currently a senior college student at the University of Illinois Chicago majoring in Psychology and minoring in Global Asian Studies. She likes reading history, collecting vintage books, looking at the night sky with her telescope, and appreciating nature. She also has an affinity for art and anything aesthetically pleasing and a little bit of a cinephile (horror movies are her favorite). Yunick hopes to grow her own backyard garden, raise her own chickens, and two pets: a dog and a fluffy bunny in the near future.

+ King of the Streets by Rodney Duran

Looking Past the Barriers

By Aliah Felix

The "King of the Streets" by Rodney Duran[1] is part of the Uptown United Public Art Program, which was put on display on February 22, 2020. One will notice striking blue eyes and white lines with squiggles that intersect an animal's face upon looking at this mural. The animal appears to be a feline with a rather serious expression. The animal is a dark charcoal-like color, and the only part of its face that shows color are its eyes. The other sections of the mural that depict color are vertical rectangular lines across the animal's face. Each line has a white background with streaks of colorful lines and words that resemble graffiti. It is interesting to note that where the lines intersect with the animal's irises, the shade of blue changes. Its eyes become an intense electric blue. The mural is painted over a brick wall, and the untouched parts are regular crimson-colored bricks.

This unique style of art can only be accredited to Rodney Duran, whose works of art are known for "... hard lines and dramatic shading to portray dreamlike and surreal human-esque figures…"[2].  This is exactly what can be seen when looking at this mural. The animal has a human-like ambiance to it, and the strong lines add a dreamlike quality where the lines and irises of the animal intersect. The blue eyes exude a surreal and mysterious feeling. Another critical aspect of Duran's works is that they represent "...   a spirit of imagination and the exploration of how we see ourselves and each other". Considering how this piece can symbolize how people view themselves and others, it seems possible that it demonstrates the complexity of identity and judgment. The white lines with colors could be interpreted as a barrier between the animal and the viewer. However, I explain this idea in more detail later.

In the documentary "The First Rainbow Coalition" by PBS[3], these topics of judgment and complex identities are shown. The documentary goes through the history of the Rainbow Coalition and interviews its former members. The coalition was one of the first to incorporate people of multiple different races working together in Chicago. It consisted of the Black Panther Party, the Young Lords, and the Young Patriots. One group consisted of African Americans, another of Puerto Ricans, and one of Southern Appalachian whites. This type of group does not come to mind when thinking about 1960s America, but it existed. At first, the groups did not trust each other due to previous misconceptions about different ethnic and racial groups.

This can be seen in a clip from the first time the Black Panther and Young Patriots met. At first, there was a noticeable tension in the atmosphere, and this is probably because this was the first time the Southern Appalachian whites and African Americans were meeting together for a common cause. It was clear that both sides felt uncomfortable, especially when one of the Black Panther leaders patted the shoulders of some of the Young Patriots. However, after both sides spoke about shared issues, they started to act differently and saw each other as equals. This response is probably because they became aware that race and ethnicity did not have to do with the fundamental human rights they were fighting for.

This mural resonates with me because not only is it fascinating to look at, but I feel that it has an important message. The mural shows that the perceptions people have of others and themselves are more complex than they appear to be. When looking at the animal, it feels like the lines are a barrier between the viewer and the animal. The lines and colors could be interpreted as a distraction from the outside world and preconceived thoughts that prevent the viewer from seeing the animal's natural form and the animal from seeing the viewer's true form. Of course, this is just an interpretation, but when looking back at how the Rainbow Coalition members acted towards each other initially, they did not see each other's true selves either. Like the mural, the outer influences prevented them from seeing the authentic individuals they indeed were. This could also be interpreted as the way people view themselves differently from what they are. It could be like a person looking at their reflection and seeing someone else due to the distractions and ideas from the outside world. Although this is all personal interpretation, I think the overall message is that it is easy to let exterior ideas and beliefs alter oneself or others' image.

+ About the Author: Aliah Felix

Hello, hola, 안녕하세요 !
My name is Aliah Felix, and I am a Spanish major who is minoring in Global Asian Studies. I am someone who enjoys learning about different cultures and loves learning foreign languages. Currently, I speak English, Spanish, and Korean comfortably. I also know a bit of French and Japanese. Besides learning languages, I also enjoy dancing, listening to music, singing, and of course, the most important of all, eating food. I aspire to be someone who can be a bridge between different people through my knowledge of languages. Whether that means being an interpreter, translator, tutor, or teacher, I want to help bring more understanding to this world. I also enjoy performing and filming dance covers as a hobby. I hope to inspire others not to be afraid of trying new things and adventuring into the unknown.

+ East Meets West by Ginny Sykes

Hidden in Plain Sight

By Alyssa Valena

The beauty of art is that it doesn’t need to be loud or extravagant to catch your attention. Sometimes, the best way to display a piece is to allow it to speak for itself. In the Uptown mural “East Meets West”[1], Ginny Sykes sought to create art that embodied the wide and varied cultural roots of the surrounding community whilst acknowledging its placement within Chicago, or the Midwest as a whole. The mural was completed in 2014 on the side of a building on the northeast corner of Argyle and Broadway where it remains today, not necessarily begging for your attention yet commanding it anyway.

Upon first glance, the inclusion of a lotus flower along with stalks of bamboo clearly allude to the largely Asian community of Uptown. However, other elements of nature are shown in tandem with these: water, a lily flower, lily pads, and dragonflies. These all don’t explicitly relate to each other besides being part of nature but if one takes a moment to consider the relevance of each symbol, it is clear why they were included when considering Uptown as more than a place. Thus, this is where Sykes was able to compare and contrast the similarities and differences between the two identities of Uptown that make it unique.

The existence of a community like Uptown is curious; it does not exist within its own bubble of being inherently Asian nor does it assimilate to being just another part of Chicago. The creation and establishment of its own identity is thus a combination of both, as shown in the mural. The inclusion of the water and the lily flower and lily pads are all nods to Uptown’s place within Chicago via drawing the more Asian-identified objects of the mural closer and connecting them to native Midwestern nature such as the nearby Lake Michigan and flowers found within the state. Similarly, the dragonflies within the piece act as a unifier as dragonflies are prominent in both the Midwest and Asian countries. Fast and fleeting but always in the moment, dragonflies symbolize the unending movement or evolution of life and the ability to be of two seemingly opposing identities or worlds at once.

The largest focal point of the mural, or the abstract “map”, stands as another clever wink and nod. For anyone unacquainted or not as familiar with the area, they most likely wouldn’t recognize what the connected lines were representing. They might shrug and simply pass it off as some artistic expression they didn’t understand. Alternatively, one who was born, grew up or nurtured in the area would be able to see the lines as the Argyle street area. However, this would not be because the mural explicitly states it as a map with listed street names but it’d be due to the sense of familiarity that one becomes acquainted with with time in their home.

What’s most brilliant about this art piece is that not only did Sykes consider the delicate identity of Uptown but she also approached the idea with the intention to be mindful of what the resulting mural could mean both at the time of its completion and at another point down the road of however long it would exist in the future. In the DNAinfo article “'East Meets West' Mural Being Installed on Argyle Street in Uptown” by Adeshina Emmanuel[2], Sykes explained how they considered how the mural need “not be a strictly Asian theme [but rather] bring something into this community that has that kind of message, that's really different from all the negative things that sometimes appear on walls, and things we hear on the news.” It shows a deep understanding of something as unique and beautiful as a community like Uptown while taking the extra care to not reduce it to anything less than. Similarly, in another article “Longtime Uptown Artist Leading Argyle-Broadway Artwall Project”[3], Sykes stated, “Any time you put a piece of artwork up it tells the story of that particular moment, but how can it also speak to new interpretations? … I think the arts are a way to dialog around those things and hope that the mural can in some way speak to that.” This is prominent because like any community could, the identity of Uptown could change at any point. While it doesn’t necessarily have to be a drastic change, the tiniest of changes could culminate in a community being more different than it was before one could recognize it. The timelessness and simplicity of “East Meets West” is what enables it to be an effective statement of Uptown’s identity.

+ About the Author: Alyssa Valena

Hello! My name is Alyssa Valena and I’m a Filipino-American student at the University of Illinois Chicago and my interests include photography, creative writing, and baking. I’m fascinated by the world around us and I believe that we need to make the most out of life that we can.

+ About the Author: RobynRose Sybico Schulman

If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way. As a college student at University of Chicago at Illinois, a Psychology major and Global Asian Studies minor on a Pre-med track, I find many ways to keep myself busy and involved. I'm a member of UIC’s Honor society, Colleges Against Cancer, Active Minds, Leadershape conference and a part of UIC’s Undergraduate Student Government. And, like many busy students, I believe time is precious, so when I have free time I try to waste it wisely. At the moment I’ve fallen down the rabbit hole of re-watching anime I’ve forgotten about since highschool and making a ritual of baking something new every week.

+ Racial Reconciliation Mural by Brian Bakke, Gregory King, and Community Members

Community in Rebirth: Race and Reconciliation Mural

By Jasmin Modelo

Sitting on the corner of Sheridan Road and Sunnyside Avenue[1], rests an artwork that is hard to miss, with its bright, vivid colors running across the north wall of what is now a Dollar Tree. Just a three-minute walk from the mural is the Uptown Baptist Church, whose Director of Community Ministries at the time was Brian Bakke. In 1995, Bakke had dreams of creating a colorful mural that would communicate “God’s love for the neighborhood.”[2]  Historically, Uptown was a major port of entry for migrants who moved northward or became displaced due to urban renewal plans.[3]  This emerging population consisted mainly of poor, low-income individuals from diverse racial communities who included African American and Southern White Appalachian migrants and American Indians who were forcibly relocated to urban centers like Chicago. The multiracial make-up of Uptown would be embodied in Bakke’s vision of the mural, along with the help of artist Gregory King and community members.[4]

As you walk down along this wide stretch of wall, a story can be made and broken down into different parts. Beginning from the left-hand side, the “Race Reconciliation Mural” depicts God’s creation of the earth, with scenery of plants and animals flowing from the upper left corner. A bible verse, Genesis 1:27-28 is written, describing how God created man and woman in his image. In the next section, a wooden mace is depicted shattering the earth with the word “sin” written in orange text on the handle. Following this section is an image of Jesus surrounded by people of different backgrounds, with Galatians 3:28 painted in bold lettering. Stitching these stories together, the mural reminds people that all are one in Christ, a “reconciliation between God and humankind, between all races...

Before becoming the mural it is today, the wall was originally used by local gang members as a memorial for people they lost. The intersection where the mural is located was considered one of the most dangerous intersections in Uptown, with over eighteen rival street gangs roaming within a few blocks of one another.[5] Bakke had to obtain permission from gang members before beginning the planning process. Street gangs in Uptown were a response to displacement and a form of self-defense for communities of color settling in a new environment.[6] The decision to use this wall in particular emphasized the importance of unifying both the religious and secular members of the community. Rather than being pitted against one another, underlying the religious theme is the message of a community joined through the common purpose of love, peace and acceptance.

In 2001, the mural was accidentally painted over due to a miscommunication with a local alderman’s office. However, with the help of over 300 community members, compared to 50 people in 1995, the artwork was successfully restored. The mural serves as a symbol of constant rebirth— from its beginnings as a gang memorial to the development into the first mural, and again coming back to life after restoration. It is never too late for a community to pave a better way of life. No matter the obstacles, they can be overcome together as long as the community recognizes that they are not as different from one another as they may think. The true “evil” is not one another, but the forces that perpetuate class struggle and poverty. Although the mural embodies the act of past endeavors to unify the community, the message remains relevant today. Prosperity comes not from a community that remains divided, but on one that stands strongly united.

[1] 4443 N Sheridan Rd, Chicago, IL 60640

[2] Fujimoto, Donna C. n.d. “Mural Communicates Reconciliation to Chicago Neighborhood.”CBE International. Accessed March 1, 2021
https://www.cbeinternational.org/resource/article/mutuality-blog-magazine/mural-communicates-reconciliation-chicago-neighborhood 

[3] Siegel, Paul Bernard. 2001. “Uptown Chicago: The origins and emergence of a movement against displacement, 1947-1972.” Ph.D. diss., University of Illinois at Chicago.

[4] Ibid., Fujimoto

[5] Leathers, Michael. 2001. “Restoration keeps mural’s message visible in inner-city neighborhood.” Baptist Press. Accessed March 4, 2021.
https://www.baptistpress.com/resource-library/news/restoration-keeps-murals-message-visible-in-inner-city-neighborhood/

[6] Ibid., Siegel, 343.

+ About the Author: Jasmin Modelo

Jasmin Modelo (she/her) is a first-generation Pilipino immigrant and undergraduate student in Chicago, Illinois majoring in Communication and minoring in Global Asian Studies. She has previously worked for local non-profit organizations, finding inspiration and empowerment through community work and activism. She is currently a social media intern for literary magazines, Marías at Sampaguita and {M}aganda Magazine. She finds solace in journaling and writing 4-line poems hidden away in her notes app that she knows will one day make a public debut.

+ Phoenix Rising by Lucy Slivinski

Rising Despite it All: A Story of Renewal in Uptown’s Phoenix Rising

By Brazil Lewis-Boursaw

Chicago is a city known for its segregated design. The differences in race and class can be seen in the neighborhoods and their institutions. What makes Uptown stand out is a history of radical inclusion. Fighting against the system of organization that maps out the rest of the city, Uptown embodies a variety of people and backgrounds through intersectionality and inclusivity when making decisions that will impact the residents that live there. The sculpture titled “Phoenix Rising” by Chicago-based artist Lucy Slivinski[1] carries the same themes. 

What drew me to this piece was the mixed media used to build it. I used to be an art major and always found myself gravitating to pieces that included texture and seemed to grow in the spaces they inhabited. Artists like Astrid Bowlby were able to fill a space with many small black and white images or paper sculptures. I think it carries themes of resilience and adaptation which is a part of the human experience. Even my own works involved repetition and what some may consider tedious work. I would always start small and work my way to create a larger image. This was to signify growth through practice and busy work. I found myself enjoying the process more than the finished project because each movement had the potential to be better or different. If I faltered on a pattern, only I would know where the mistake was, and after repeating the movement so many times, it was barely noticeable. I think this is an important lesson for learning any skill because it shows that practice matters. It continues to build and shows in the end.

While learning about Slivinski, I found a YouTube video of an earlier piece titled "In the Land of Love There is No Garbage" where she mentions communal installation as an important part of her creative process.[2] This is also seen in Phoenix Rising.[3] Community engagement and the use of recycled materials engage with and challenge the themes of displacement. By working with what is already there, it shows that it is possible to expand without destroying what is there and starting where you are at. Displacement, urban renewal, and gentrification require destruction and removal, which do not benefit the lives already inhabiting that space. It is not right to put community members at risk to benefit something as abstract as the local economy or to attract consumers from outside communities.

This piece demonstrates true collaborative efforts. Slivinski offers her time, expertise, and materials in addition to asking for the community to incorporate items to be displayed in their community. I remember the same spirit in the planning of the Hank Williams Village in Uptown. Community involvement was valued during the process because the design of the center was to benefit the residents there. I thought it was particularly meaningful to have budding architects work and live in the area alongside the residents in order to experience their stories and their struggles to understand how their skills are needed [4].

Slivinski’s history of reusing materials was one of true renewal without displacement. When learning about urban renewal, I thought it was interesting how these projects were pitched to residents from people who occupied positions of power who only had something to gain from it. This problem was not new in Uptown, and the residents were not unaware of this practice[5]. Phoenix Rising reflects themes of renewal and ascension. I thought the use of such heavy materials like bicycle scraps, a nod to the increase in bike riding in the area, juxtaposes against the form of a bird who is constantly working against gravity to move. The use of a phoenix which is known for its story of rebirth signifies overcoming struggle.

[1] http://www.lucyslivinski.com/bio.html

[2] https://www.uptownupdate.com/2017/10/year-of-public-art-designs-announced.html
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGtiuVFU64c&t=238s 

[3] https://www.uptownupdate.com/2018/06/phoenix-rising-sculpture-dedicated-today.html

+ ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Brazil Lewis-Boursaw

Brazil Lewis-Boursaw is a senior at the University of Illinois Chicago. Her major is Communication and minor is Global Asian Studies (GLAS). She enjoys music and hopes to have the opportunity to work abroad.

+ John Vietnam Nguyen by various community artists

“One Line, One Sound”

By Andy Truong

From a reading “Letters to a young poet,” Rainer Maria Rilke[1] once said, “But your solitude will be a support and a home for you, even in the midst of very unfamiliar circumstances, and from it, you will find all your paths.” It is good to see the good in others, but we have to remind ourselves that the best being in the world is ourselves. While looking at others, try not to be any of them but be our own original. Uptown and Argyle is the home to diverse backgrounds and refugees that are looking for a place to call home. The history is rooted at the core of its community.  And from succeeding generations, we are still fighting for what is right and what we believe in.

One of the public art pieces that I found compelling and a hidden gem in Argyle is the John “Vietnam” Nguyen Memorial Mural. John “Vietnam” Nguyen was born on March 13, 1993, and raised in Uptown, Chicago. He was an emcee, poet, break-dancer, and activist. David Je, a close friend of John growing up expressed that John was a gifted individual who had such a strong presence. John’s[2] perspective in life influenced those around him with an energy that told them to be better versions of themselves.  Much of what John accomplished - from making music and spoken word and engaging in social activism is what created this persona that brought enlightenment and unity to the community. It was important for John to identify as mixed-race – of being both Vietnamese and White. As David noted, “he wanted other people to know that he embraced it [his Hapa identity] and basically represented it for other people who had the same upbringing as him.” John was the type of person who was not afraid of other people’s judgment and encouraged those around him to believe in themselves.

I think it’s very important to understand our own roots and to be able to tell our own stories in order to understand and share someone else’s story. John was real and unapologetically raw with his lyrics, especially at such a young age. The John “Vietnam” Nguyen Memorial Mural symbolized a lot of what John represented. It is located at 1055 W. Argyle Ave., Chicago, IL  60640. It was also in the alley near where John and his family lived for over 15 years. This memorial tribute was created through a collaboration of organizations such as the Multicultural Youth Project (MCYP), Kuumba Lynx, First Wave, Connect Force, Jam Master Crew (JMC), and The Chinese Mutual Aid Association (CMAA). The amount of community involvement in creating this piece shows John’s impact on the community. This mural was created in the span of 3 days, from November 23 to November 25, 2012 [3]. Some may only see the mural for the word “Vietnam,” but it holds a much more sentimental value.  Every letter holds an element of what John stood for. John was not afraid of his Hapa upbringing and he was well aware of the struggles growing up in a community that is constantly at war to be at peace. Even in his last moments, he stayed true to his way of life and impacted those around him. 

John’s legacy will continue to be passed forward to the new generations as the mural showed the type of conviction with which John pursued his life. As David recounted, “Whether you’re from Uptown or not, it’s always one love.” This saying holds so much energy in terms of what John believed in. Regardless of where one may come from, we have to be united as a community. John’s influence created the Elephant Rebellion, which carries his legacy, values, and way of life through the phrase “Empowering the community through art and education”. In one of John’s last spoken word performances, he said, “As I aspire to reach more people with my words… I hope to expand; I want my bars to go further than Chicago.” For everything he has done, it goes to show that we, as a community, still have a lot more work to do.  As “Một đời, một tình yêu" means “One life, one love” in Vietnamese,  “one line, one sound,” is to represent the unity that we have in standing together and creating change that is “Louder than a bomb.” 

John died trying to save a friend from drowning on August 30, 2012. He was about to start his second year of college at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. View a video documentary tribute to his life here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSZPLRxlv1Q&t=7s

John “Vietnam” Nguyen Memorial Mural
Address: 1055 W. Argyle Ave., Chicago, IL 60640”

+ About the author: Andy Truong

I am a Chicago native, born and raised. A majority of my life I grew up in Uptown/Argyle. I am currently attending the University of Illinois Chicago pursuing a degree in Biological Sciences and a Minor in Global Asian Studies. I am also a Brother of Chi Sigma Tau National Fraternity Inc. and affiliated with student organizations such as the Vietnamese Student Association of UIC.

+ John Vietnam Nguyen by various community artists

Forever a Young Uptown Legend

By Melissa Reyes

The mural[1] commemorating the life and legacy of John “Vietnam” Nguyen stands in the area he wanted to bring the most change to - Uptown. John saw the inequalities that his community experienced and wanted hope for the future. He expressed this through his talent of poetry and hip-hop. Being a son of a Vietnamese mother, he was prime example of an Asian American who knew his roots and where he wanted to go. The memorial mural created in his honor captures aspects of his life that made him the man who he became.

The John “Vietnam” Memorial Mural was created over the span of three days in November 2012. What makes this mural so much more special is that it was produced by a number of different artists in the community who came together to create something that represented John best. The artists who came together included AshleyNaes de Venecia, dtel xmen, Gina Gonzalez, Jesse Livingston, Justin Grey, Nerd, Oscar Olivares, Paul, Rene J. Marban, Tom Callahan, and Zeb.

With each letter in the name “Vietnam” is an artifact or symbol meant to represent the community and ideals that John Vietnam stood for.

• V - contains image of the South Vietnamese flag, where his mother is from
• I  - contains an image of The Uptown Theater, iconic in Uptown
• E - 2012, the year Vietnam passed, was the year of the dragon which also represents the Nguyen dynasty.
• T - An image of a boat that contains traditional Vietnamese woman along the Mekong River.
• N - Children are depicted as well as the importance of attaining an education.
• A - Image of the Red Line train stop in Argyle.
• M - John grew up through the Multicultural Youth Project which is represented in the image of the elephant.

The mural also consists of two images of John doing some of his favorite things such as spitting bars and dancing. Along with representing the Asian and Asian American community, Vietnam also recognized Asians with mixed heritage because he himself was mixed race. He identified with the struggles of other communities of color, having grown up in such a diverse neighborhood such as Uptown. In his poetry, “What’s your Story?” John conveys how he understands the violence that his community is going through and reassures them that future generations have the power to change. John’s identity as a child of an immigrant mother who came to the United States to give him a better life resonates with my own experiences.

Unfortunately, the life of John Vietnam was cut short. However, his life and words represented the Asian/ Asian American community, Uptown, and the youth to name just a few. It is important for the public to understand Vietnam’s life because he spoke truth to the problems and situations he and others around him faced. Through his talent of hip-hop, he spread messages of wisdom that would inspire many to go and achieve their dreams and hopes for a brighter future.

+ About the Author: Melissa Reyes

Melissa Reyes is a Mexican American senior at University of Illinois Chicago pursuing a major in Communications with a minor in Global Asain Studies. She is from Melrose Park, Illinois and plans to use her degree to work in social media as well as live in other parts of the world.

Indian Land Dancing by Tracy Van Duinen, Todd Osborne, and Cynthia Weiss

The Unbounded Stories of Our City

By Jesvin John

Chicago is one of the most diverse cities in the country, carrying different cultures and customs from all over the world. While we celebrate Chicago for the people it houses today, we must also pay remembrance to the land Chicago was built upon. Long before skyscrapers congregated in the city, Indigenous peoples populated the region. However, the effects of colonization beginning in the 1800s forcibly removed the majority of the Native American population from the area.

Over a decade ago, Alderperson Mary Ann Smith began a project to recognize and pay tribute to the city's past and contemporary Native populations through an art piece. To honor and celebrate the rich history of the Indigenous peoples of Chicago, the Indian Land Dancing mosaic was created. The project was led by the artists Todd Osborne, Cynthia Weiss, and Tracy Van Duinen. Other artists, members of the Uptown community, and youth volunteers contributed to the making of the mural as well. After six weeks of work, the mosaic was completed and on August 22, 2009 it was dedicated by Alderperson Toni Preckwinkle. As of 2009, the mosaic stands to be the only public art piece designed by indigenous peoples. The mural resides on the Lake Shore Drive underpass at Foster Avenue in Edgewater, an area that was formerly a part of Indian trails.[1]

The inspiration behind the piece came from the poet E. Donald Eddy Two-Rivers. Donald Two-Rivers resided in the urban Native American community in Chicago for a part of his life and later on became an activist for Native rights in the 1970s. Over his career, he created a collection of plays, short stories, and poems. The Edgewater mural was inspired and named after a specific Two-Rivers’ poem titled Indian Land Dancing. The poem references various memories of shared experiences of indigenous peoples. The full poem has been incorporated into the mosaic for all to see.

The mural Indian Land Dancing is composed of colorful, mirrored glass and ceramic tiles. The vibrant tiles tell stories that are meant to teach the surrounding community about Native American history and about the contemporary Native community in Chicago as well. The larger images which can be seen in passing through a car window portray important symbols of the Chicago Native community such as the red and brown feathered bird and the picture of a woman holding a sphere of seven circles. For those walking through the area, more time can be taken to view the individual tiles. Upon closer inspection, one can see that many of the tiles possess stories of their own. Whether they portray important historical figures such as Sauk Warrior Black Hawk or relevant contemporary figures such as Mohawk Ironworkers, more can always be learned about our city’s indigenous roots and contemporary community through this complex Chicago art piece “Indian Land Dancing.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jesvin John

My name is Jesvin John. I am an undergraduate student at the University of Illinois Chicago on the pre-nursing track with a minor in Global Asian Studies.

+ Bears by Liz Flores

Forms of Flores

By Emily Shi

Liz Flores is not an artist by education. She actually studied business at Illinois State university, began a corporate 9-5 job, and soon quit her job in order to pursue art full time. This story has personal significance to me, as I am from Bloomington, IL, where Illinois State University (ISU) is located. It is interesting to think that Flores’ art has permeated the two cities that I have spent the most time in my life—my hometown and Chicago, IL. Flores also works with acrylic, which is my paint of choice. I am personally excited to try and recreate pieces inspired by her artistic style!>

The similarities extend beyond there. What first drew me to Bears [1], was Flores’ depiction of figures through shapes. This is one of my favorite types of art. Matisse, a very popular artist and favorite of many, also employs this technique. Flores is set apart from Matisse in her singular focus on women. We see in this mural that the figure on the left is a woman. Flores has said in her interviews that she typically portrays women, and an investigation into her other murals confirms this. I resonate with her portrayal of women as dynamic, as shapeless almost yet simultaneously composed of shapes. Of course, the most freeing part about this type of depiction is the release of all societal standards of what the ‘shape’ of a woman is ‘supposed’ to be. This preordained shape is so seared into our minds by media traditional artistic depictions that it is highly liberating to see Flores’ abstract forms. I have always hypothesized that this sense of liberation is what makes Matisse so popular, so I am excited to see Flores continue to grow in popularity in Chicago and beyond. The fact that her work has been commissioned by the Chicago Bears is a huge testament to the attractiveness of her art style in public spaces. Here I think that the greatest part about the Bears piece is the subtlety of the Bears reference and instead the greater feeling of unity, movement, color, and joy that are apparent from the piece.

Flores said in an interview that she typically centers the themes of her work around what she herself is experiencing as well as what is going on in the world. Clearly, Bears is meant to signal a sense of unity despite the isolation of the current times. The movement of the two figures also symbolizes huge societal strides that have been made in this era. She said specifically that the two words she tried to keep in mind in the creation of this mural were committee and action. Committee is apparent from the double figures, and more specifically from the overlap between them. Action is intrinsically tied with the figures’ movement—and it is worthy to note that they move in opposite directions. Most of all, she channels a sense of underlying and lasting community that sports create around within a community. Despite our current isolation, the bonds created by sports are stronger than athletics themselves, and they persist now as they did for generations before.

+ About the Author: Emily Shi

Emily Shi is a rising senior majoring in Chemistry and minoring in Global Asian Studies at the University of Illinois Chicago! Emily is originally from Bloomington, IL. Throughout her time at UIC, Emily has been an active member on the Leadership Council of Peer Health Exchange. She is passionate about serving the Chicago community and has taught health workshops in Chicago Public High Schools for three years. She also serves as the Vice President of American Medical Womens Association and is grateful for the chance to connect with women in medicine in the UIC community. In her free time, she loves painting, reading, cooking, and spending time with family and friends. She is planning on attending University of Illinois College of Medicine next fall, and is incredibly grateful to have been able to study Global Asian Studies in her last year at UIC!

+ Holy Trinity by Jim Bachor

Pothole Mosaics: A love letter to the resilience of Chicagoans during the COVID-19 pandemic

By Jazmin Juarez

Everybody hates potholes, but Chicago artist Jim Bachor is finally doing something about it. In an interview,[1] Bachor said that crews often came by and did these temporary fixes, but the potholes never seemed to stay fixed. His journey with mosaic, pothole art, started with one particular pothole outside his home that was troubling him. After several trips to Pompeii, Italy, he became interested in mosaics because of their durability and beauty; many of the city’s mosaics have survived a millennium. He thought that a mosaic could be the perfect, more permanent solution to cover up a stubborn pothole. His first few installations around his neighborhood were clandestine, often having neighbors or friends keeping watch, but the city has yet to condone his art. I first learned about Bachor in Spring of 2019 when he installed a series of tulips and snack-related pothole art. I was immediately drawn to them because of how they have beautified the city. Potholes are often a source of frustration for drivers and pedestrians alike. Bachor’s art is a subtle reminder that beauty can be anywhere, even in surprising places. This is the best type of art because it produces unexpected joy.

The Holy Trinity - COVID-19 edition

Jim Bachor’s most recent pothole art is the Holy Trinity; it is a series of four pieces of pothole art located on Gunnison just a bit west of Broadway Avenue in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood. In the Holy Trinity, Bachor is paying respect to three items that have proven essential during these historical times: hand sanitizers, toilet paper and alcohol (beer).

Bachor usually spreads his mosaics around the city because a street with too many potholes will probably be repaved soon, but he decided to install The Holy Trinity on a single street. This COVID-19 edition of pothole art is super interesting because a few months before he installed it, hand sanitizers, toilet paper, and beer would have been random art pieces. I think in the future it will make more sense for the young people if they see the trinity together. Also, these essential items collectively hold meaning for much of what life is and has been the last couple of months-- and probably will continue to be. They are symbols of self-preservation and social awareness. I also think that this artwork has a therapeutic way of keeping the community’s health intact while also remembering life during the pandemic and acknowledging those we lost.

My favorite aspect of the mosaic is that it includes a red star, identical to the ones found in the Chicago flag. Jim Bachor included this in order to acknowledge the local Uptown community. There is no reporting as to why the artwork is located in Uptown. I think this is because Uptown is one of the most diverse communities in Chicago; hence, it would be the best setting to represent the Chicago pandemic experience. Uptown has been a home to a large Indigenous, Asian American, African American, African, Southern White, and Latinx population. The neighborhood also has a large wage disparity as it is being increasingly gentrified. In 2013, a CPS school was closed and was recently turned into luxury apartments[2]. Schools in the neighborhood are being disinvested in because a lot of families are forced to educate their children outside of the ward. According to Angela Clay, a 2019 46th Ward aldermanic candidate, many other constructions serving new, higher earning residents are underway[3]. Seventy percent of Uptown’s current residents are renters and without rent control, they are being pushed away from not only the neighborhood but the city as a whole. Meanwhile, people of color and other vulnerable populations in Chicago and in Uptown specifically have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19. Although the items in the Holy Trinity mean something to everyone, they represent very diverse lives. It is interesting to think about how Uptown residents will react to this artwork in 20 years if it still stands. Who will be living on Gunnison and Broadway? And how will they remember the resilience of the current residents?

Personally, I love this art piece because it is so unexpected, and we are forced to look at the art without warning. I was instantly reminded of the Stolperstein (mini memorials to Holocaust victims) in Germany because they are found by chance. I think both the memorial and the Holy Trinity intend to provoke thoughts about a serious issue. Bachor’s art will be with us long after we recuperate from the pandemic. Stolpersteine and the Holy Trinity are not placed prominently, but are rather discovered by chance, only recognizable when passing by at close distance. This is important because central memorials can be easily avoided or bypassed on purpose. Pedestrians and drivers will be forced to pay tribute to the Uptown and Chicago pandemic experience. Although the Holy Trinity is small, it represents a much deeper intrusion of memory into everyday life, one that a larger art piece at a museum could achieve.

+ About the Author: Jazmin Juarez

Jazmin Juarez will graduate with Honors from the University of Illinois Chicago with concentrations in Latin America and Latino Studies, Chinese, International Studies, and Global Asian Studies in May 2021. Jazmin is interested in diplomacy and trade, and is pursuing a diplomatic career path. She is interested in Sino-global relations and wants to play an impactful role in the development of U.S. foreign policy in Asia Pacific. Jazmin plans to attend graduate school.

+ Community Unity by Justin Grey, Bill Tran, and Kuumba Lynx

Togetherness and Community

By Mahima Nath

Community Unity is a mural created by Justin Grey, Bill Tran, and Kuumba Lynx and is located on the Northeast corner of Kenmore & Argyle. Community Unity seems to be about two main elements: the first being diversity and the second being unity between different communities. The former being depicted in the mural through the different colored hands and the latter being depicted through the hands reaching out to each other.

The themes behind this mural, of diversity and unity, are reflected in the documentary, “The First Rainbow Coalition”[1], that when people from diverse backgrounds come together and discuss their shared issues, much can be accomplished. The first Rainbow Coalition was made up of the Black Panthers, the Young Patriots, the Young Lords, and Rising Up Angry – groups that represented various race and ethnicity. They found that they were all dealing with similar issues such as discrimination, poor housing conditions, urban renewal, police brutality, and many others. This coalition was able to enact some really helpful programs for their communities like free breakfast programs and free clinics. The Rainbow Coalition inspired people of different racial and ethnic backgrounds to create their own coalitions and activist groups all over the country. More than anything, this coalition was able to prove that people of different backgrounds should be able to work alongside each other rather than view each other as just another enemy they have to fight against.

Another example in which we see community unity reflected is in Peggy Terry’s life. In Peggy Terry’s “Bowls of Cherries and Grapes of Wrath” and “Uptown’s JOIN Community Union,[2]”, we learn about she navigated race and class relations.  Much like many other poor white people at the time, Peggy Terry did not care much for Black people, or any person of color for that matter. By living through many different major historical events like the Great Depression and the Civil Rights movement, she learned a thing or two about the importance of diversity and equality. While doing so, she joined CORE which, at its core, is an African American Civil rights group. That said, CORE gained a lot of people from different racial groups, including Peggy Terry. She lifted herself out of her racist past and stood alongside people of color in her community to make change.

This mural resonates with me because I know firsthand how important a sense of community is in creating a better life for everyone, although my experience does not tie in with race as much as it does with gender. As a brown woman going into a very white male-dominated field, I know the struggle of not feeling like you belong and of people treating you differently and underestimating you just because you are a woman. The moment I knew, despite all the hardship I had been through, that I belong in this field is when I attended the Grace Hopper Conference last fall. At the conference, I recognized that there are many women and marginalized groups that feel the same way I feel about pursuing a career in technology. Through figuring that out, I gained a sense of community with these other women and automatically felt better about the path I chose. While that story may be trivial in comparison to what I was describing earlier, I believe that it proves my point. That point is, gatherings like that of the Grace Hopper Conference, or Rainbow Coalition meetings, or what have you, will always instill a sense of togetherness. That sense of togetherness and community is what makes real change happen, whether it is for the individual or an entire group of people.

+ About the Author: Mahima Nath

My name is Mahima Nath (she/her), and I am a third year Computer Science major with a Global Asian Studies and Math minor at UIC. I am a part of the Global Asian Studies Student Advisory Board (GSAB), a mentor in the Asian American Mentor Program (AAMP), and a research assistant at UIC’s Smart Water Infrastructure Modeling Lab (SWIM). When I leave UIC, I want to work as a Data Scientist. Since data science spans across all fields, I hope to be able to combine my passion for social justice and equality with my work in data.

+ Grief Gate by Sherilyn Sheets

Remembrance

By Alexandria Seballos

The Grief Gate[1] was created in May 2020 by Sherilyn Sheets, the founder and director of local religious organization, JUSTembrace[2]. Consisting of a small black gate covered in white ribbons, those passing by the mini memorial are encouraged to write the name of a victim of COVID-19 or any thoughts and prayers they may have on one of the provided white ribbons and tie it to the bars of the gate. The idea of a Grief Gate is not a new concept to JUSTembrace,but it is a tradition that they have extended to the rest of the area. With a mission of developing an atmosphere of generosity, hospitality, and inclusivity, the organization believes it is important to make sure that people that often get forgotten in the community are remembered and honored. Prior to the pandemic, when a member of their community passed away, the organization would hang up a photo and description of that person on the gate in front of their facility. Now, as the number of deaths due to COVID-19 increases, they have decided to encourage others to participate in this activity as a way to pay homage to those that have lost their lives and to help friends and families of the victims to grieve their loss in a healthy way. The gate also serves as a spot for reflection as people that pass by it are reminded of the many lives lost to COVID and the effect that this pandemic is having on the Uptown community. While there is no up to date number on the amount of visits the gate has gotten, as of July 2020 there were already 2,700 ribbons tied to the gate, and one can only imagine how many more names have been added.

When I first began researching what public piece to conduct this essay on, the Grief Gate was one of the first that interested me because, not only is the gate related to current events, but it is also a testimony to recurring events. As the country has had to live under the constraints of the pandemic for over a year now, it is easy for people to become desensitized to the dangers and damages that this disease has caused. Because of this, many have begun to ignore the safety guidelines put in place in favor of attempting to return to a sense of normalcy, ultimately disregarding the jeopardy they are putting others in and ignoring all of the lives already lost from this type of carelessness. This is why I feel that the presence of the Grief Gate is so important. Not only is it a memorial to all the people that have sadly passed within the community, but it also serves as a reminder and reality check to those still alive that the pandemic is very real and very lethal. Additionally, I think the Grief Gate is also a challenge to the history of neglect residents have faced in Uptown. For decades, the residents of Uptown and their needs have often been brushed aside, so that either those living outside of the community or the very wealthy members of the area can benefit. An example of this that is most akin to the current situation is the issue of black lung disease. In the 1960s and ‘70s, many displaced miners moved to Chicago as a result of mine closures. With them they carried black lung disease, a respiratory disease induced by breathing in coal dust that was unknown to most doctors of the time, but experienced by a large number of miners. At the time, when these miners sought medical attention or compensation for their health problems, they were brushed aside by medical professionals and the government, resulting in deaths and no reparations for the widows of the miners until the development of the Chicago Area Black Lung Association[3]. While black lung and COVID-19 are very different diseases that occur under very different circumstances, the deadly effects of both diseases largely affected residents in Uptown and, sadly, often led to the dismissal and neglect of their victims. What the Grief Gate does is attempt to counter this recurring theme of ignorance and forgetting. When asked about the purpose of the gate, Sheets stated, “‘we want our neighborhood to know when someone’s life has gone and this is a community where a lot of people disappear’”[4]. The Grief Gate is there to emphasize the importance of life and dignity and to show that, while certain members within the community may be overlooked or unnoticed, their life was still valuable and they will not be forgotten like so many have been.

+ ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Alexandria Seballos

Alexandria (Alex) Seballos is a third-year student at UIC majoring in Kinesiology and minoring in Global Asian Studies. She is a part of various clubs on campus including the Korean American Student Association (KASA), the Society of Future Physicians (SFP), and the Food Recovery Network (FRN). She is currently on the pre-med track and hopes to become an orthopedic doctor in the future. In her free time, she enjoys watching anime, dancing, and doing anything creative.

+ Inhale, Exhale by David Heo

Human Emotions

By Sierra Song

The large mural, Inhale and Exhale[1], was created by David Heo, a Chicago-based artist who earned his Masters of Fine Arts and Drawing from the School of the Art Institute in Chicago. Just off of North Clifton Avenue, along with spectacular art alongside the street galley, one will see a large painted wooden board of a girl and a brightly, patterned neon tiger sitting across from each other. A common theme in Heo’s work is the mix of traditional and contemporary art styles. Heo will commonly take traditional folklore or mythology and incorporate it with the quiet daily life of a human experience. You can see the contrast of the theme being used in this piece with the folklore aspect of the tiger and the modern contemporary aspect signaled by the girl’s clothing.  

When asked in an interview, Heo’s opinion was on what role the artist has in society and he responded with, “the world feels like it’s on fire, and people sincerely need art more than ever. At the moment, I believe the artist’s role is to be an empathetic and civically engaged conduit for inspiration and education for others.”[2] I believe this was really well said as we all can’t help and feel anxious with a lot of uncertainty especially during these unprecedented times so we try to find ways to unplug and as Heo said, art is one of those ways. Whether it’s through consuming or creating art, art has a great role for being an escape during stressful times. When I look at Inhale and Exhale, I can feel that there’s mutual sharing of peace between the tiger and the girl. Although the tiger is represented through bright patterns in contrast to the girl who is in more muted colors, the contrast between the two figures all works coherently together. I remember that first initial thought as I was looking through the different public art of Uptown where this particular piece specifically caught my eye. Human emotions can be represented in a lot of different ways and I felt that I could relate to the girl in the piece in terms of whatever emotion she may be feeling. I think the piece can be interpreted in a lot of different ways on what the girl and tiger represents and what type of emotions may be trying to be portrayed. Could it represent the complex relationship of being an Asian American? Could it also represent the harmonic relationship between the traditional and the contemporary? I could also see the relationship of different human emotions we may feel, from disarray and peace within oneself. We also see how the tiger is baring its fangs in front of the girl, yet the girl still sits calmly as if the tiger wasn’t there to begin with. Perhaps, the tiger represents willpower, courage, and personal strength. No matter what someone may see in this piece, Heo’s goal in his art is relatability. He isn’t trying to tell his own stories through his art. Instead, he explains that the emotions we feel as humans are universal as they are his biggest inspiration for his pieces.[3] 

Everyone feels the same type of emotions as humans, it’s just how we handle and battle those emotions that may be different from one another. By representing human experiences through art, perhaps we can all feel the commonality among us more and see at the end of the day that we’re all just humans. 

+ ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Sierra Song

Sierra Song is a third year student at the University of Illinois Chicago. She is a second-generation Korean American who lived in Bloomington, Illinois all her life up until college. You will either see her getting boba or getting food often with her friends as she is a very big foodie. In her free time, she has found a recent hobby of painting over quarantine! She hopes to sometime to go back to Korea soon and travel all over Asia in the future.

+ Lily, Birth-Rebirth by Patricia M. Murphy

Hidden Beyond Sight

By Michelle Mendoza

I stood behind a brown bricked building labeled Clarendon Community Park on 4501 N. Clarendon Avenue in Chicago. There was a vastness of space behind this old, windowless building. The same building surrounds the field(s) open to people interested in basketball or soccer. There is also a playground for children to promenade away from their worries and to unite with friends. At first, I was quite confused about the randomness to which the park sits in the middle between two busy roads of Marine Drive and Clarendon Avenue. It seemed almost as if the park was misplaced because very tall luxury buildings can be seen not so far from where people can visit. I decided to stop thinking of random thoughts and walked alongside pet owners who walked their dogs in peace.

On the side of the brown-bricked building, there sits a sign “Welcome to Clarendon Park Community Center.” The Clarendon Park Community Center is open to the public, incentivizing children and adults to be active in their community. People within and outside of the community will find many activities that are accessible to them. There are many sports provided -basketball, football, karate, cheerleading, and many more. Kuumba Lynx, an organization that works with the youth and produces urban art, also works within the community to give children a haven for free thought using poetry, graffiti, art, and hip hop in the program.

I stand in front of the brown-bricked building to find myself mesmerized by a beautiful Venetian glass mosaic called Lily, Birth-Rebirth[1]. There is a delicateness in the art's construction; tiny individual pieces of glass all have a role to fill. The bright light from the sun allows the mural to shine in every vantage point. The colors (all colors of the rainbow) are vibrant and evoke feelings of hope and positivity. I wonder what the flower lilies represent. Patricia Murphy and Young Apprentice Artists created a handful of lilies from colors orange, red, and white. What did those lilies symbolize? What did birth and rebirth have to do with the Clarendon Park Community Center?

To learn the meaning of the mural, I decided to research the origins of the building itself. In 1916, the Community Center was once a Municipal Bathing Facility. A gateway facility that people go to enjoy one of Chicago's great beaches. Urban renewal had a plan to extend Lakeshore drive (one mile away from the facility) to create an entryway to the Downtown area. Thus, the acres of land that the facility once possess is the Clarendon Park Community Center. The Clarendon Park Community Center was small in comparison to what the Municipal Bathing Facility used to be. In 1972, the reconstruction of the building did not eliminate the structural issues faced by the facility before. For example, water infiltration prevents the community from having all the rooms accessible for its members and attendees. In addition, the city has no intention to fund the community center for continuous maintenance nor improvement.  To respond to what Patricia Murphy wanted Lily Birth-Rebirth to symbolize, I believe that her goal was for the people within the community to feel that they had each other. The community center allows children to be involved in their communities physically and mentally. Children have opportunities to participate in activities and programs that their schools may not provide. The Birth-Rebirth was in the reconstruction of the building itself: Birth to Clarendon Community Center and Re-birth to providing accessibility for children and their futures.

+ About the Author: Michelle Mendoza

My name is Michelle Mendoza, and I am a junior majoring in Psychology and minoring in Global Asian Studies at the University of Illinois Chicago. Someday, I wish to be a therapist because I love children and have experiences coming from a troubled home. I want to help create a safe place for people to have their voices known. I hope that someday I can be a driving force to allow people to see themselves as valuable and loved; to spread love and kindness to others as much as I can. Love alone can impart the necessary change we need to see in our world today.

+ Uplift Community High school Mural by After School Matters Program Youth Participants

Our Duty to Protect Education

By Emmanuel Batayola

Located in the 900th block of Wilson in uptown lies the Afterschool Matters mural made by teen participants in Green Star Movements Uplift Bricolage Mural Program in 2010. Teens were given the opportunity in the span of 6 weeks to create a mural that focuses on themes such as social justice, community, history, and education. Teens were able to accomplish this to talk about the injustices of the Education system in Chicago.

The first section piece on the left-hand sign shows off a capital building, courthouse, and a person reading a book. Under the government buildings and person reading lies a zoning-type view of the neighborhood. To emphasize these neighborhoods, the colors orange and red are used. This part of the mural wants to show off the willingness of youth to learn but are under the pressures of government funding of education. In 2013, Mayor Rahm Emmanuel was part of the effort to close 49 schools in Chicago displacing 11,000 students in Chicago. Promises were made to close the schools and create facilities to benefit the community, however, half of the schools today are still vacant or did not serve their true purpose. This is seen through Graeme Stewart Elementary School in Uptown where the school was repurposed into an apartment complex. In the CPS system alone, CPS reports that 76.4% of students are at an economic disadvantage. The purpose of this part of the mural was to recognize youth voice and show that younger folks are aware of those who are placing barriers to education.

The middle section of the mural shows three stick figures. The stick figure that stands above the rest has the title of College prep with a graduation cap on. The two other stick figures say Middle school and high school resting on a blooming flower. This middle portion talks about the current CPS system and what it is selling. The flower blossoming represents the students becoming adults in pursuit of education to better their selves but does not have the financial means to achieve it. The middle school figure and the high school figure look at the college prep figure in the middle symbolizing how CPS institutions are bringing attention to these programs yet ignore of these education institutions financial needs. In return, the students can only look at the college prep/college as a dream because the students are grounded to the flower that is weltering due. The grey and the black bring attention to the wall that symbolizes the foundation of these institutions dying.

On the right side of this mural is a hill of gold. The hill shows off an intersection that says north, south, and west. A red cylinder-like shape exists on the bottom that has words inscribed that saying “peace. A person is blowing these words through a tuba.

This final side of the mural represents the money that exists for these institutions but is not being utilized. The red cylindrical shape holds a student blowing a tuba conveys how fine arts and music programs are the first to be slashed and buried away. The money hills show how the money does exist for schools, and investments in schools should be endless.

The mural is meant to start a conversation about the current state of education and the value elected officials to place on them. As a CPS alumnus, I remember how programs were cut and how only the higher achieving students were valued over the general body of students. However, investments towards each student can only be addressed if we add funding to schools as well as protecting education budgets from being slashed. If we hold education as a tool to propel one out of poverty, we should hold our elected officials accountable in their attempts to taint these institutions.

+ ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Emmanuel Batayola

My name is Emmanuel and I was born and raised on the northwest side of Chicago. I have a passion for public service and navigating systems to make it easier for folks to understand. I like to cook food in my free time and love my two dogs Kira and Snow.

+ Uptown Alley Cat by Jim Bachor

Do You See What I See?

By Joy Angela Magana

On the northwest corner of Clifton and Wilson in Uptown, Chicago, there watches a tiled green-eyed cat. It is one of the many commissioned pieces by Jim Bachor and surprisingly, he does not like cats. On his website explaining the idea behind the mosaic, he left a conversation he had with someone:[1]

"Another cat?”

“I thought you didn't like cats?"

"I don't."

But in this situation it made sense. "Uptown Alley Cat" is part of the new Clifton Avenue Street Art Gallery in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood. The cat looks down the alley making you wonder "What IS that cat looking at anyway?"

Interpreting an artist’s vision and process of designing and producing an artwork can be challenging. We as onlookers can only interpret it through our imagination, expression, and emotions. For Bachor, the Uptown Alley Cat[2] represents how Uptown can be viewed by an average person. I, for one, love cats and I do have a cat named Alfie. When he looks outside, sometimes he just likes to look and see what is out there, but most times he finds something to pique his interest like birds or squirrels and he will “chirp” at them. I feel that is what Bachor intended with his piece - to really allow the people to decide what this alley cat is looking at in a place that is so full of culture and diversity. 

From the Association for Public Art,[3] they define public art as “a reflection of how we see the world - the artist’s response to our time and place combined with our own sense of who we are.” Bachor says it makes sense to have a cat to be part of the numerous street art Uptown has to offer because we can interact with this alley cat in our way, to make us think and value that community expression we want it to represent. He created this piece in 2019 and to be fair, that cat has seen some things over the years. The interpretations may have changed based on people's feelings or current predicaments. Though it could have also been a bright side to many as this installation is so simple but could make people like me smile at seeing a beautiful multicolored cat looking down on me or looking at things around Uptown that I think it is looking at. I mean, with how colorful the city is, I think it does reflect the many elements that Uptown has to offer and what attracts us to this community. Not every piece of art is for everyone and to really turn an artwork someone else has created into one that resonates with you can be a form of expression with multiple meanings.

The multiple meanings that one piece of artwork is able to give reminds me of John “Vietnam” Nguyen’s poetry, “I was born here,” which narrates his experiences and connects those memories to those who come from immigrant families and have felt confusion from being born in America. You see and feel his work through your eyes. Similarly, your perspective determines what the “Uptown Alley Cat” sees. Therefore, what the cat sees becomes part of you and your own reflection. The cat peeks over the horizons, the people, the buildings but you determine what it stares at. The same goes for John’s poem, you determine what you take and learn from the piece to think back at your own experiences, and then you choose how you carry that forward in life. Art is truly up to one’s own interpretation and it can be completely different from what the original artist makes it to be. It is a gift from the artist to fulfill our needs in ways we didn’t think could be interpreted so eloquently and or simply.  While I have not had the opportunity to visit this alley cat, I will hope for one day to meet to see what I can portray uniquely in a place that has culture and history at every corner. 

+ ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Joy Angela Magana

Hi! My name is Joy Angela, but I go by Joy. I am a fourth-year UIC student at the College of Education. I say currently because I transferred into this individual college during my Junior year and prior to that I intended to become a nurse. Eventually, I have found my path in teaching and education and hope to strive to become a better learner and educator for my future students, cohorts, and coworkers. As I have worked in many career fields, today I work as a preschool teacher in Burr Ridge. I believe a critical education at all ages helps our generations prosper to become better citizens and community folks to one another. Being a Global Asian Studies minor has taught me the importance of diversity and reflection, and taking action in what we feel is important. But we must always remember our capacity and not overburden ourselves. We create a community for a reason and once we find that, each of us will live full lives in support and cherish the times we have.