blog post image

A Case for Chicago Winters

“Winter came and the city turned monochrome — black trees against gray sky above white earth. Night now fell in midafternoon, especially when the snowstorms rolled in, boundless prairie storms that set the sky close to the ground, the city lights reflected against the clouds.” — President Barack Obama, Dreams from My Father: A Story […]

Jan 14 2022 by Maddie Rosemurgy in Editorials
blog post image

Learning from a Secret Street Photographer

“Well, I suppose nothing is meant to last forever. We have to make room for other people. It’s a wheel.” — Vivian Maier Decades before Humans of New York became a worldwide storytelling sensation, a young woman by the name of Vivian Maier was quietly and meticulously documenting American life on the streets of New […]

Oct 20 2021 by Maddie Rosemurgy in Breaking the Grid
blog post image

Sounding Boards: Eastlake Studio’s Mural Initiative Amplifies Chicago Voices

At Otherwise, we believe in the power of art to bring communities together, ignite important conversations and explore the world around us through a critical lens. We recently found inspiration in Sounding Boards, an initiative that uses public art as a vehicle to amplify diverse voices throughout Chicago. Technically speaking, a sounding board is placed […]

Sep 15 2021 by Maddie Rosemurgy in Breaking the Grid
blog post image

How to Use a City: Jim Duignan on Quietly Creating a Radical Social Art Practice in Chicago

  ‘I’ve been working quietly in the cracks of the city my whole life and all of a sudden there’s a kind of light shining that is often too bright and too constant.’ Born and raised on the North Side of Chicago, Jim Duignan has devoted his life to reinvesting in the city’s most under-served […]

Aug 18 2021 by Maddie Rosemurgy in Breaking the Grid

Archives