At Alt Space Chicago on Friday, July 17 Intersections: Art, Planning and Place gathered artists, cultural workers, community organizations and residents for a day of workshops, a panel discussion and resource exchanges focused on building stronger communities through creative placemaking and placekeeping.
The event was hosted by Elevated Chicago, a collaborative focused on equitable transit-oriented development and community-driven development, in partnership with the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE), the City of Chicago agency that supports artists, cultural organizations and access to the arts.
Laura Trejo, program director for cultural resources DCASE, highlighted how art can strengthen communities and transform spaces into community hubs through creative placemaking.
“Art doesn’t just build new communities but strengthens existing communities. There is so much potential with how we are thinking about the development of the community. The fact that a private building can now become this community hub that has arts embedded into it is a pretty spectacular thing that is happening in Chicago,” Trejo said in describing the Alt Space Chicago venue in Austin.
The community forum featured a resource expo and demonstrations highlighting how arts and culture can strengthen communities through creative practice, engagement and storytelling. Attendees took part in various workshops such as Artful and Delightful Community Engagement, Building a Sustainable Creative Practice, Storytelling That Builds Community and Healing Beyond Survival, led by community organizations, along with a Q&A panel discussion exploring the role of art in shaping neighborhoods.
Juan Sebastian Arias, executive director of Elevated Chicago, described the organization’s vision for equitable transit-oriented development, which aims to create walkable neighborhoods where residents of all backgrounds can benefit from housing, public spaces and cultural resources.
“Arts and culture are not add-ons to development. They’re both the fabric and the infrastructure that help strengthen identity, safety and belonging. We bring together community leaders, city partners, government staff, artists, advocates and policy groups around a common vision for equitable, transit-oriented development,” Arias said.
The panel featured co-founder of Alt Space Chicago Jordan Campbell, alongside artists Sarah Ross, co-founder of Walls Turned Sideways and muralist Marcus Akinlana.
Ross also discussed how he co-founded the Prison + Neighborhood Arts/Education Project in 2011, a Chicago-based initiative that connects artists and educators with incarcerated individuals through arts and education programs.
“Our goal was actually to think about how we could make work that could challenge ideas of criminalization and incarceration and bring that to the outside to teach people about the conditions that people are living through,” Ross said.
Akinlana said public art was his first introduction to art outside of academics, providing opportunities that traditional artistic pathways did not offer him. He said his work has been shaped by mentors and community artists who inspired him to create pieces that represent Chicago, build connections and leave a lasting legacy.
“I wanted to inspire myself to continue through this world that I think I designed, where challenges and obstacles aren’t necessarily meant to stop us, but they’re meant to strengthen us on our journey. Some people feel like these obstacles are put there to stop you, but they’re not trying to stop you. They’re trying to strengthen you,” Akinlana said.
Campbell shared that his photography practice shifted from being centered on himself to focusing on the people and communities he photographs. Through his work, including Project STÉM, he uses storytelling and public art to highlight residents’ experiences, create connections and challenge negative narratives about Austin by showcasing the people who make up the neighborhood
“We learned that when we moved to the Austin community, that one out of three stories in the media was negative and so we wanted to change that. We also thought we could look at these abandoned spaces as campuses and put those photographs on them to activate them, allowing people to see the faces of residents in Austin and counter that narrative,” Campbell said. “I’m just proud to be part of a community with so many artists that I can be motivated by.”
The program also featured an interactive artistic performance that brought together music, dance and visual art. Participants were invited to contribute to a collaborative canvas using paint while a tap dance performance and sound meditation created a shared creative experience.
“We build relationships, we build bridges, we connect. So we’re excited to continue doing this work. We’re very intentional about investing in cultural placekeeping, which helps keep us rooted in history, embrace community, and support the places that already exist,” Arias said.