CLOSED CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS PROJECT

Years after the 2013 closure of 49 Chicago Public Schools most of the spaces remained non-utilized. Paola Aguirre of Creative Grounds and I set out to investigate the status of each closed or consolidated school and share our findings with the public. Through documentation, installation, and mapping we presented information in exhibitions that fostered dialogues about the future of the empty spaces and the overarching themes evident in the analysis of the data. Overwhelmingly, the schools were shut down on the south and west sides of the city in communities of color that were already underserved before the closures. These exhibitions were the beginning of Creative Grounds research into the fate of the schools and also prompted ways of reimagining how these spaces could once again serve the community around them. Throughout the various iterations of the project as represented here, we received support from DCASE and Jane Addams Hull-House Museum. Paola Aguirre continues the research, activation, and dialogue around Chicago’s Closed Public Schools. Event images courtesy of Jane Addams Hull-House Museum.

Learn more about Creative Grounds: https://www.creativegrounds.org