News
Rio de Bienvenida/River of Welcome Public Art Dedication
Artists: Cynthia Weiss & Delilah Salgado
Partners, Citlalli Trujillo, Dr. Rachel Havrelock,UIC Freshwater Lab, & Chicago Public Art Group Sculpture Fabrication: Vector Custom Fabricating, Chicago
Digital Design: Neon Fab Studios, New York. Tile installation: Brian & Nick McGlade
Funders: E(art)H Chicago, Builders Initiative; Individual Artist Support grant, Illinois Arts Council; QTS Data Centers, and University of Illinois System Presidential Initiative for the Arts & Humanities.
Designed by Cynthia Weiss and Delilah Salgado
E(art)H Chicago, UIC Freshwater Lab, & Chicago Public Art Group
Canalport Riverwalk Park
June 3, 2023
The Freshwater Lab at UIC and artists from the Chicago Public Art Group, along with community members and the media, gathered to celebrate the installation of permanent artworks that reflect the history, ecology and possible futures of Canalport Riverwalk Park.
The Canalport Riverwalk, a five-acre park that straddles the South Branch and the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, is one of the few water access points on Chicago’s West Side. Its existence is barely known even to longtime residents. The riverwalk lacks amenities and needs love.
The location of the artworks signals how environmental issues disproportionately affect communities that border this stretch of the river. Rio de Bienvenida/River of Welcome advocates for public access to the river and park space that more closely resembles other parts of the river.
In the name of fostering relationships between people and the river and improving the park experience, I worked with other artists and community members to design and install an art fence and mosaic planters.
“We want to create designs that symbolize their hopes and visions for a future with cleaner air and water and create access to green space. We see this collaborative art process as an opportunity to engage community members in conversations and design discussions around how to make the park more welcoming and accessible, through and beyond this project.”
IN THE MEDIA
Rio de Bienvenida/River of Welcome Press
The Rio de Bienvenida/River of Welcome project has received coverage in the Chicago Tribune, and recently received a VIP Innovation 2022 Award from Friends of the Park.
Fabric of Our Lives Press
Chicago Sun Times, article by Kyle Brown, Apr 9, 2021
The Forward, article by Rochelle Newman Rubinoff, April 29, 2021
https://forward.com/news/468650/a-facelift-at-40-for-a-beloved-mural-of-chicago-jewish-life/