Urban/Environment is a temporary public art project featuring thirty-nine photographs along Chicago Avenue and adjacent side streets between 32nd and 42nd Streets. Accompanied by descriptive text in English, Spanish and Somali, the installation mimics interpretive signage associated with state parks.
The photographs show intimate details that many people see every day but rarely notice or avoid step-ping on. They examine the intersections between urban infrastructure and natural organisms. Rogers has captured rabbit tracks preserved in the sidewalk, a branch growing through a chain link fence, and native species flourishing in tiny gardens. Photographs are installed as close as possible to the places where they were taken.
Documentation video by Ben Hovland.
This project is part of Arts on Chicago. The Arts on Chicago initiative is an arts-based community development project in Minneapolis, MN, led by Pillsbury House + Theatre, Upstream Arts, the Powderhorn Park Neighborhood Association, and MCAD Professor Natasha Pestich with support from the Ward 8 Council Office of Elizabeth Glidden. Arts on Chicago is funded in part by Artplace, a collaboration of twelve of the nation’s leading foundations, eight government agencies including the National Endowment for the Arts, and six financial institutions across the U.S.
Stephanie L. Rogers is a fiscal year 2013 recipient of an Artist Initiative grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
