Since they mounted their first exhibit in 2016, movin’ in the right direction sums up the boldly ambitious goals of an arts collective known as the Floating Museum. The group sees the entire city as a museum and treats each neighborhood as a potential gallery. For the past three years they’ve collaborated with communities and other artists to develop original themes that they use to develop one-of-a-kind concepts.
Last year the collective met with some success and acclaim for their inspired repurposing of a 100’ barge on the Chicago river. Redefining what it means to transport, they used the barge to “off load” art at various sites along the river delivering original works by local artists, conducting song circles and presenting live dance performance. By taking art to where people live and work the collective hopes to energize neighborhoods as well as individuals.
Despite of the group’s name and its 2018 Chicago river production, the Floating Museum is not water bound. Floating more like a butterfly than a boat, it can light or land anywhere in town with one of its pioneering outdoor projects. This year, the Green Line’s route functions as the Floating Museum’s geographical muse with neighborhoods running from Austin to Englewood acting as the collective’s exhibition spaces.
Hoping to turn the Green Line into an arts destination, the collective took to the rails with their current project, Cultural Transit Assembly. Building historical relevance into the artistic exercise, the Floating Museum aims to highlight “historical figures that elevate the stories of indigenous people and people of color”. Partnering with the CTA, two train cars have been converted into moving art rooms. The cars have been melded into the system’s regular schedule and are wrapped in white sheeting carrying portrait renderings. One car commemorates the recognized founder of Chicago, Jean Baptiste Point du Sable and the other honors his Potawatomi bride, Kitihawa. Each car displays local artist interpretations of what du Sable and his wife looked like and provide information about the import each had on the settlement of the city. Much like the popular CTA Holiday train during the Christmas season, seeing or riding in the Floating Museum’s tribute cars is based on luck or perseverance.
On the ground a similarly impressive effort extends the tribute with an imposing air-filled sculpture entitled Founders. Over 25’ tall and in luminescent white, it too carries images Chicago’s first settler and Kitihawa. They are joined by a likeness of Chicago’s first Black mayor, Harold Washington. From July 24th through September 11th, the four-headed bust “floats” from neighborhood to neighborhood where it remains in residence from 11am to 6pm. Docents are on hand to talk about the significance of each person as well as the story of the sculpture’s construction. Tying a more performance based component into the sculpture’s stay at each spot would enliven the experience and make its presence more meaningful.
To stimulate curiosity and interest, the sculpture is often placed on a site that insures its visibility by passengers riding the line.
Random CTA stations like the west side’s Pulaski stop also act as unexpected galleries. There, photographer Nicole Harrison uses portraiture to “honor family bonds and heritage”.
The Floating Museum’s Cultural Transit Assembly culminates with its participation in Expo Chicago on Navy Pier September 19 – 21, 2019.
The Floating Museum
Cultural Transit Assembly
July 24 – September 21, 2019
