“Environmental Concerns”
September 26 - November 18, 2018
Opening Event: September 26, 5:00-8:00PM
"Environmental Concerns" is a collaborative project of the Experimental Station and William Hill Center for the Arts. It looks at local intersections between the natural world and social environments. Through exhibitions, installations, and public events, it connects and amplifies neighboring grassroots sites.
The William Hill Gallery is an intimate space for contemporary art located in the backyard of the house that William Hill inherited from his grandfather. It is located at 64th and Dorchester in the Woodlawn neighborhood of Chicago. Hill, an artist, curator, and horticulturalist, has developed several outdoor sites: the William Hill Sculpture Garden, Dorchester Botanical Garden, and The Woodlawn Botanical Nature Center (at Hyde Park Academy High School). All within a few blocks of his home and gallery, Hill has thoughtfully cultivated spaces filled with plants, functional objects, and art.
Located three blocks north of Hill’s gallery, the non-profit Experimental Station was built on a legacy of environmental and artistic activity. Its building was home to Chicago’s first recycling center, Kenn Dunn’s ReUse Center, and then became a hub of activity around the studio of artist Dan Peterman, whose work is centered around reuse. Today, Experimental Station fosters a dynamic ecology of cultural programs and initiatives to meet local needs. It does so through running a community bike shop as a youth program, a farmers market, a program doubling the value of food stamps at farmers markets, and arts and culture events, while also incubating businesses and hosting community journalism projects.
This project highlights the existing artistic and horticultural efforts at these sites and further activates them through installations, exhibitions, and events by artists connected to Hill and Experimental Station.
Included are:
A series of free, public events will take place during the run of the exhibits. They will take place Experimental Station (6100 S. Blackstone) unless otherwise noted.
Wednesday, 9/26, 5:00-8:00PM - Opening Event and Tour of Project Sites
Saturdays, 9/29 and 10/6, 12:30-1:30PM - Norman Long’s Three Block Sound Walk (depart from 61st and Dorchester)
Wednesday, 10/3, 6:00-8:00PM - “Earthkeeping” Film Screening with South Side Projections
Saturday, 10/13, 10:00-1:00PM - Cream Co.’s “Plant Your Fears” at the 61st St. Farmers Market
Thursday, 10/18 - 6:00-8:00PM “Environmentalism, Art, and the Neighborhood”: A Conversation with Patric McCoy
Tuesday, 11/13, 6:00-7:30PM - Closing Event: “Chainsaw Lowering” Public Performance and Tasting with Erik Peterson
Organized by Alpha Bruton (Phantom Gallery Chicago), William Hill (William Hill Center for the Arts), and Matthew Searle (Experimental Station).
For more information, contact Matthew Searle, Assistant Director of Experimental Station:
Email: matthew@experimentalstation.org or by Phone: 773-241-604