Posted 5 years ago
Press contact: Jessica Cabe | PR and Communications Manager, Chicago Loop Alliance jessica@chicagoloopalliance.com | 312-782-9160
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | Nov. 13, 2019
CHICAGO—This December, pedestrians on Wabash Avenue between Lake and Monroe streets will experience a big pop of primary colors thanks to a new initiative by Chicago Loop Alliance. “Wabash Windows” is a strategic placemaking project that activates four vacant storefronts on Wabash Avenue with murals. Installation for “Wabash Windows” will take place Dec. 1-5.
Artists will install murals on the inside of storefront windows using paint that is easily removed. Brightly colored murals will beautify the windows of vacant storefronts along Wabash and bring positive attention to available retail space. Once the space has been rented, the mural will be removed.
“A lot of the economic development work Chicago Loop Alliance does is centered on the idea that if we make the Loop a vibrant destination, business will come,” said Ian Zeitlin, public space manager for Chicago Loop Alliance. “Transforming vacant storefronts into art installations accomplishes multiple goals: It makes the street look more alive and attractive to the public, but it also, in turn, makes these spaces attractive to businesses.”
As part of Chicago Loop Alliance's broad Transforming Wabash initiative, CLA had an interest in activating vacant storefronts on Wabash with art and contracted Michelle Kliman of MK Studio, an Experience Design studio, to design the method for the activation. Kliman conceptualized painting murals directly on the glass and selected artists, created design guidelines and will oversee installation and removal of the murals. In celebration of the 100-year anniversary of the Bauhaus School, an influential German school of design, architecture and applied arts, “Wabash Windows” employs a primary color palette inspired by the school’s revolutionary aesthetic. Muralists Jennifer Wandro, Carla Bank, Bee Harris and Ponnopozz will use these colors to create murals in their unique styles.
Through her design practice, Kliman creates interactive spaces, inspiring events, signature moments, engaging programming and playful products that take people offline and into the physical world where we all live.
“Working with Chicago Loop Alliance has been such a rewarding experience,” Kliman said. “As project designer for Wabash Windows, I get the opportunity to provide local artists with a public platform to share their work, elevate the Wabash retail corridor, and inspire and connect people to the city of Chicago and the creatives that live here.”
About Chicago Loop Alliance
Chicago Loop Alliance’s (CLA) mission is to create, manage and promote high-performing urban experiences, attracting people and investment to the Loop. CLA is a membership organization as well as the sole service provider for Special Service Area#1-2015, and the Chicago Loop Alliance Foundation produces public art projects and events. For more information, please visit www.loopchicago.com.
About Michelle Kliman of MK Studio
In 2017, Michelle Kliman founded MK Studio, an Experience Design studio that specializes in the built environment. Kliman’s core focus is on creating interactive environments that connect people and inspire a more hands-on experience of the physical world. MK Studio creates spaces that engage all of the senses and crafts experiences that capture people's imaginations and curiosity by producing shareable moments and creating lasting memories. Prior to founding MK Studio, Kliman worked in New York and Chicago as a spatial designer, event and exhibition designer, and product and surface designer. For more information, please visit www.mkstudio.co.
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