{"id":5145,"date":"2019-12-16T21:37:58","date_gmt":"2019-12-16T21:37:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/loopchicagodev.wpenginepowered.com\/activating-the-loops-community\/"},"modified":"2026-05-26T21:25:56","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T21:25:56","slug":"activating-the-loops-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/loopchicago.com\/es\/chicago-loop-blog\/activating-the-loops-community\/","title":{"rendered":"Activating the Loop&#8217;s Community"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"loop-intro wp-block-paragraph\">3 MIN READ &#8211; ACTIVATE is an award-winning urban experience that celebrates\u2014celebrates art, celebrates architecture, celebrates music, celebrates food, celebrates drink, celebrates you, celebrates me, and celebrates us. It is an event where everyone participates in creating positive energy and memorable experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"lc-post-paragraph wp-block-paragraph\">Created by the Chicago Loop Alliance Foundation and Placemaking Committee in 2014, <a href=\"https:\/\/loopchicago.com\/es\/events\/activate\/\">ACTIVATE<\/a> is a pop-up event series that reclaims alleys and other unconventional places in the Loop as public space for all Chicagoans.\u00a0 A defining feature of ACTIVATE is the location. Inspired by the desire to \u2018be in the know\u2019&#8211; located in random, often forgotten spaces throughout the central business district, ACTIVATE transforms what is outwardly perceived as a 9-5 buttoned up culture into a living artistic, musical celebration of diversity and proclamation of everything that our great city of Chicago stands for.<br><br>Attending ACTIVATE is not like attending one of Chicago\u2019s many street festivals. Very much intentionally, ACTIVATE has a different energy than other events and gatherings\u2014it is cooperative, collaborative, and uplifting. Partly, this happens because these events are free to attend, and guests are even treated to a free drink. Every guest in the crowd has equal opportunity to experience it\u2014your ability to enjoy ACTIVATE is not related to the depth of your wallet. The events also promote free expression of culture and experience by artist and participant alike. Pushing and shoving is rare; crowds ebb and flow with density; and a common respect has developed amongst attendees.<br><br>Artists and participants experience ACTIVATE together. Murals are created live during ACTIVATE; musicians perform live on stage; marching bands walk through the crowd; poetry readings happen randomly throughout the event; and DJ\u2019s spin music from on top of art trucks. Often, artists invite members of the crowd to partake in creating art. Random acts of expression are common yet always unexpected. This is part of the magic. \u201cWere you there when\u2026\u201d is often a comment heard for months after an ACTIVATE event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large loop-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/loopchicago.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/ACTIVATE-Body-Paint.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>A Barbershop awning, for one evening, was transported from its neighborhood location to an alley ACTIVATE and offered free haircuts to ACTIVATE participants. The station was a huge hit; and since they couldn\u2019t get through the entire line during the event, the company welcomed everyone back to their neighborhood location to provide haircuts well past midnight that evening.<\/li>\n<li>Sam Kirk\u2019s Chicago Loop Alliance alley mural is her most tagged piece on the internet.<\/li>\n<li>Artists who meet at ACTIVATE have later collaborated on programs and installations in other Chicago neighborhoods.<\/li>\n<li>Quotes from event participants included: \u201cthe queer community does not always feel welcomed in the Loop, this event forever changed that for me.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"lc-post-paragraph wp-block-paragraph\">And the results are proof positive that CLAF is on to something with this event:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Over <strong>700 artists<\/strong> engaged through paid work<\/li>\n<li><strong>31 permanent murals<\/strong> in the Loop<\/li>\n<li><strong>Over 100,000 participants <\/strong>since its inception<\/li>\n<li><strong>$3m in estimated economic impact<\/strong> created at neighboring businesses in the Chicago Loop<\/li>\n<li>Attendees from over <strong>87 unique zip codes<\/strong> have attended an ACTIVATE this past summer alone (50 in the city). This is an event for all Chicagoans.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large loop-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/loopchicago.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/259A8940-v2-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"lc-post-paragraph wp-block-paragraph\"><br>ACTIVATE is a gathering of like-passioned people who know that Chicago is more than how we are portrayed in the news. At these events, there is a determination of spirit that celebrates inclusion and diversity, and represents what Chicago is all about. It underscores that we believe in the future of this great city and the people who call it home; and with each of us contributing, we can change the headlines to a more positive message.<br><br>The challenge was made to extend <a href=\"https:\/\/loopchicago.com\/es\/events\/activate\/\">ACTIVATE<\/a> beyond four events a year to every day and permeate the Loop as an expectation of experience. Wouldn\u2019t that be wonderful?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"lc-post-paragraph wp-block-paragraph\"><em>David Broz<br><\/em><em>Principal, Gensler<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ACTIVATE is an award-winning urban experience that celebrates\u2014celebrates art, celebrates architecture, celebrates music, celebrates food, celebrates drink, celebrates you, celebrates me, and celebrates us. It is an event where everyone participates in creating positive energy and memorable experiences.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":9379,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[21,55,67,57],"class_list":["post-5145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-loop-news","tag-free","tag-get-around","tag-public-art-parks-plazas","tag-things-to-do"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Activating the Loop&#039;s Community - Loop Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/loopchicago.com\/es\/chicago-loop-blog\/activating-the-loops-community\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_MX\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Activating the Loop&#039;s Community - Loop Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"ACTIVATE is an award-winning urban experience that celebrates\u2014celebrates art, celebrates architecture, celebrates music, celebrates food, celebrates drink, celebrates you, celebrates me, and celebrates us. 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