What is Creative Placemaking?
Open Studio Project recently received a Creative Placemaking Grant from Cook County Arts. As one of 14 suburban Cook County organizations selected to receive the grant, the funds have kickstarted the process of installing a new mural on our building at 727 Main Street. Today, Rob Lentz, OSP's Executive Director, is diving into what “creative placemaking” means and how the new mural will enhance placemaking efforts in Evanston.
The Places We Remember
If you were to walk around the Chicagoland area, you’d encounter a number of memorable places. From the Cloud Gate sculpture (more commonly known as the Bean ) and Crown Fountain in Millenium Park, Art on the Mart at the Chicago Riverwalk, and the hundreds of unique murals that dot our city and suburban neighborhoods, these places have been designed to draw people to them, to activate public space in a way that enhances the surrounding community.
Placemaking is an intentional effort to design public spaces that are memorable, unique, and authentic – places that people want to come back to. These spaces reflect the character and values of their community, and strengthen the sense of connection for those who live in and around them.
The Origin of Placemaking
The idea of placemaking has its roots in mid-20th century urban planning and development. According to the School of Critical Design, placemaking “emerged as a response to the modernist planning practices that dominated the early part of the century, which often resulted in sterile, uninviting, and poorly designed urban spaces.”
Jane Jacobs, William H. Whyte, and Jan Gehl are some of the early thinkers who pioneered the use of placemaking when planning and developing communities.
They believed that places should be built by and for the people who live in them, and that community input was key for designing public spaces. Community members know what they need and can identify problems and solutions that city planners and design professionals might not recognize on their own.
Creative placemaking is an extension of this philosophy. Cook County Arts defines creative placemaking as a process that “integrates arts, culture, and design activities into efforts that strengthen communities. In disinvested neighborhoods, it guides residents’ efforts to make social, physical and economic changes in their communities through arts and culture.”
“Creative placemaking integrates arts, culture, and design activities into efforts that strengthen communities... it guides residents’ efforts to make social, physical and economic changes in their communities through arts and culture.””
Placemaking + The Open Studio Process
At Open Studio Project, community has always been at the heart of what we do. In fact, our mission is to bring the transformative power of art directly to individuals for personal growth, social emotional-emotional learning, and community well being. Installing a new mural on Main Street is a new way for us to live into this mission and bring you – our community – along with us.
Community input is a key element of placemaking, and we’re excited about all the opportunities community members have to get involved in the Main Street Mural process. From a community survey to art workshops and in-person events, our hope is that the mural-making process will offer an outlet for healing and recovery from the disruptions and collective trauma we’ve all experienced since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the coming weeks, we’ll be engaging local business owners, students from Nichols Middle School, and neighbors like you our art-making process to help generate ideas and foster community connections.
The Open Studio Process is a unique tool for life-healing art in group settings that combines:
mindfulness practices
journaling
open-ended art making
reflective writing
and sharing with the group
The workshops, which will be led by Open Studio’s trained facilitators and the mural project creative team, will be social events as well as creative outlets, with opportunities for connection, learning, and healing.
Placemaking in Evanston
Placemaking is not a new concept for the city of Evanston. In fact, thanks to the placemaking efforts of the Main-Dempster Mile and the dozens of local businesses that make up Main Street, the neighborhood has a distinctive feel that continues to attract visitors from Evanston and beyond.
We believe the new mural as a creative placemaking effort will build off of the momentum our neighbors have already created, and has the potential to springboard our neighborhood into a new phase of unity, connection, and community wellbeing, and further make Main Street a place that people remember.
Your participation is a vital part of making this mural a success.
Take our community survey and sign up for our email list in the space below to find out when our community workshops will be!