The largest permanent digital art projection in the world will illuminate the riverwalk all summer!
Having treated Chicago to some incredible spectacles last year, including shows inspired by “The Obama Portraits” and the “Frida Kahlo: Timeless” exhibition, the Art on the MART’s scintillating summer schedule will begin on Thursday, June 30.
Taking place nightly at 9:00 pm and 9:30 pm, the new schedule will bring to a close Floe – a piece by Chicago native Carrie Hanson with her contemporary dance company, The Seldoms, and Choral – a piece spotlighting the impacts on marine life by Marlena Novak and Jay Alan. Wednesday, June 29th, will also mark the last showing of two climate change-themed projections presented in partnership with Shedd Aquarium.
These will pass the baton on to several new exciting pieces being displayed on the 25-story-tall face of the Merchandise Mar for a blockbuster summer 2022 program. Premiering Thursday, June 30, at 9 pm, all 34 digital projectors will begin bringing to life Billiken by Shkunna Stewart and Wills Glasspiegel as well as explore by Jonas Denzel through Wednesday, September 7.
First time watching @artonthemart along the river banks in Chicago and it completely blew me away. The perfect spot on a summer evening to while away a few hours watching the world go by, then see an amazing show! pic.twitter.com/t2hppoLIV4
— Paul Rennie (@pauljgrennie) August 6, 2021
Billiken is a large-scale visual work celebrating the talented youth dance groups and marching bands that participate and compete in Chicago’s annual Bud Billiken Parade which is the largest and longest-running African American parade in the country. Meanwhile, explore is a sound-focused piece inspired by drums that will feature hands that “knock, rub, clap and perform a rhythmic choreography across the building, turning it into a towering musical instrument.”
The summer schedule will also continue to show Nick Cave’s Ba Boom Boom Pa Pop Pop through Wednesday, September 7. The work by the acclaimed American artist and local legend features completely original footage together with remastered content from Cave’s original film Drive-By. Brightly colored figures dance across the Mart’s iconic riverside façade transporting the viewer to a kaleidoscopic other world.
The projections coincide with the first career-spanning retrospective of Nick Cave’s work, Forothermore, which is currently on show at The Museum of Contemporary Art. Dubbed his largest show ever in Chicago, the exhibition is dedicated to those who exist as the “other” and features more than 75 of Cave’s acclaimed works stretching back to 1989 and Cave’s first post-student creations.
Holding the title of the “largest permanent digital art projection in the world”, Art on theMART attracts thousands to the Riverwalk and Wacker Drive in downtown Chicago every week by transforming the 2.5-acre river façade of the Merchandise Mart. It provides a public platform for local artists, national artists, and international artists with work ranging from schools to renowned exhibitions and everything in between.
The 30-minute shows will run nightly through summer at 9 pm and 9:30 pm. The best places to view the projections are from the jetty section of the Chicago Riverwalk between Wells and Franklin Streets.
For those who prefer to view it from home, live streams can be found on Art on the MART’s Facebook page.
[Featured image courtesy of Art on the MART]