Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-02-22
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

AIDS garden planned for Belmont Rocks; Haring art to be included
by Tracy Baim, Windy City Times
2018-03-14

This article shared 3880 times since Wed Mar 14, 2018
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


About a dozen people gathered for a meeting March 8 to discuss a planned garden to memorialize the loss, activism and resilience of Chicago's fight against HIV/AIDS.

The planned garden, at the Belmont Rocks in Lake View, is being designed by Clauss Brothers, Inc., landscape architect Natalie Gongaware. She presented her preliminary designs to the group invited to Ann Sather on Belmont by Ald. Tom Tunney.

Attendees included LGBTQ, HIV/AIDS advocates, historians and parks advocates, including representatives from Center on Halsted, Howard Brown Health, Friends of the Parks, the Chicago Park District, the Chicago Parks Foundation and Windy City Times.

The Chicago Park District has designated space near Belmont Harbor for the garden, and Tunney funded the draft landscape plan. The tentative name of the project is AIDS Memorial Garden, but Howard Brown Health CEO David Munar suggested the name should also pay tribute to the activism. Attendees also said there should be a way to memorialize Chicago's own efforts to combat HIV/AIDS, those lost to the disease—and to make sure there is an educational component about the current fight.

The Belmont Rocks have a long history of LGBT activity, from colorful graffiti, cruising and sports to the annual Black Pride event held there for decades. Lake View itself has a diverse history, including strong Latino roots. Ideas at the meeting included incorporating all of that history, in addition to perhaps having markers or murals in other parts of the city to note the widespread impact of the disease across the entire region.

The tentative plans include several beautifully landscaped, free and public spaces just south of the parking lot at Belmont and Lake Shore Drive. Areas are marked, including the Garden of Tranquility, the Stand Against Intolerance, Circle of Peace, a Hope and Healing Space, Quiet Reflection and a Community Remembered. There would be some of the painted rocks of the famous old Belmont Rocks landscape, plus many different trees and other plantings.

Perhaps most exciting will be a planned 30-foot sculpture being made available from the Keith Haring Foundation. The final selected design will be announced soon, but its height would be visible from many directions, including Lake Shore Drive. Haring, a pop art and graffiti artist, was among the most prominent Americans who died of AIDS complications—in 1990, at age 31.

The project is expected to cost about $2 million, which Tunney expects to raise from independent sources, not through the city. Funds will also be raised to maintain the park once it is built. The project could be completed in as quickly as 18 months.

For details, including how to support the project, or to give input, contact 44th Ward Director of Public Safety and Community Affairs Chris Jessup at Chris.Jessup@cityofchicago.org or 773-525-6034 .


This article shared 3880 times since Wed Mar 14, 2018
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

SHOWBIZ Romance films, Megan Thee Stallion, Keith Haring, Cher, George Maharis
2023-06-02
Video below - Instinct published an article on five gay romance films that the writers feel are especially emotional. They include the 2022 British film In From the Side, about two gay rugby players; the 2019 production Monsoon, starring ...


Gay News

Artemis Singers' summer performance urges listeners to be 'defiantly optimistic'
2023-06-02
The longstanding lesbian chorus Artemis Singers will use their annual summer concert to implore listeners to consciously choose hope in the face of hardship. The performance, "Better Times Will Come," takes place at the Irish American ...


Gay News

As Pride Month begins, 2Bears Tavern Group issues statement on allyship and safe spaces
2023-06-01
--From a press release - [Chicago, IL — June 1, 2023] As we begin Pride Month, many in the LGBTQIA+ community, and in particular of late, transgender and non-binary people, drag performers, and parts of the leather, fetish, kink, and BDSM ...


Gay News

HRC president calls on business community to reject coordinated, extremist anti-LGBTQ+ attacks
2023-05-31
--From a press release - WASHINGTON - Earlier today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation's largest LGBTQ+ civil rights advocacy organization, in partnership with over 100 LGBTQ+ and allied organizations, renewed its call for Target and the business community t ...


Gay News

More than 100 pro-LGBTQ+ groups, allies urge Target and business community to reject anti-LGBTQ+ attacks
2023-05-31
--From a press release - WASHINGTON - Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), GLAAD, GLSEN, Family Equality, National LGBTQ Task Force, National Center for Lesbian Rights and National Black Justice Coalition, in partnership with more ...


Gay News

House of Blues Victory Party closes out IML
2023-05-30
The winners, contestants, and spectators partied the night away after the IML contest at the Victory Party at The House of Blues on May 28. Photos by Joseph Stevens ...


Gay News

Billy Masters: 'Vegas loves Manilow' and Mary's sues Florida
2023-05-30
"I always go back to Divine. Also I was always a big fan of Varla. There's such a wink and a poke." —Melissa McCarthy, who plays Ursula in the live-action film "The Little Mermaid", talks about ...


Gay News

IML visitors are off to (the leather) market
2023-05-28
International Mr. Leather visitors shopped and took part in demonstrations at the event's famous (infamous?) Leather Market at the Congress Hotel over Memorial Day weekend. Several dozen vendors took part in the event; a portion of ...


Gay News

Chef Art Smith talks upcoming dinner and activism
2023-05-26
More than 6 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's disease, including more than 230,000 Illinoisans. Additionally, more than 11 million family members and friends serve as dementia caregivers, with more than 383,000 caregivers in Illinois. Unti ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Warhol, Sarah Paulson, upcoming books, Rufus Wainwright, Elliot Page
2023-05-26
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled seven to two that the late artist Andy Warhol wasn't allowed to use a photographer's portrait of Prince for a series of pop-art images, per The Hollywood Reporter. Associate Justice Sonia ...


Gay News

Joy heals: Artist Hannah Sellers's works explore gender, trauma and clothing
2023-05-25
Note: This article mentions sexual assault and trauma. Color Club Gallery, 4146 N. Elston Ave., was well-lit by the early evening sun May 18 as the audience gathered for Q & A event that was part ...


Gay News

Illinois Healthcare Cultural Competency Coalition applauds passage of HB 2450
2023-05-25
--From a press release - The Illinois Healthcare Cultural Competency Coalition applauds passage by the Illinois General Assembly of legislation that will ensure cultural competency is part of continuing medical education for a range of healthcare providers in Illinois. "We are ...


Gay News

Openly gay experimental artist/filmmaker Kenneth Anger dies at 96
2023-05-24
Experimental filmmaker and artist Kenneth Anger has died at age 96. According to Variety, his gallery—Sprueth Magers, operated by Monika Spruth and Philomene Magers—confirmed the news on their website, writing ...


Gay News

Target removes some Pride merchandise after receiving threats
2023-05-24
Ahead of Pride Month (June), Target is pulling some of its LGBTQ+ merchandise after facing "threats" and backlash from customers, Politico reported. Target's website features hundreds of items as part of its Pride Collection but will ...


Gay News

Lambda Legal marks 50 years with Bon Foster Civil Rights Celebration
2023-05-20
Lambda Legal marked its 50th anniversary with The Bon Foster Civil Rights Celebration May 19 at the Art Institute of Chicago. The event honored Windy City Times Owner and Co-Founder Tracy Baim. The celebration was named ...


 


Copyright © 2023 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives. Single copies of back issues in print form are
available for $4 per issue, older than one month for $6 if available,
by check to the mailing address listed below.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.
All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transegender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.