New interactive mural in Tri-Taylor celebrates Chicago's disabled community
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A new mural designed to celebrate the disabled community recently was unveiled outside the Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities in the Tri-Taylor neighborhood, near Ogden Avenue and Polk Street.
The creation process took months.
"This piece is really meant to celebrate the disabled community, but we also wanted them to be able to interact with it," said artist Sam Kirk.
Kirk created the mural outside the Central West Community Center.
Getting the disabled community involved in the process was step one. Kirk collaborated with the city to hold community engagement sessions so the public could weigh in.
"I worked with many different individuals who have different abilities to learn from them; to learn from them what their experiences like, what were some things that made them feel really proud, and feel connected to the community. But also, when thinking about public art, what were some things that we needed to do differently in order for them to engage with the work, in a way that I as a public artist might not have considered in past works," she said.
One thing in particular that Kirk had to think about was making sure the disabled community could enjoy the mural, no matter their physical limitations. The end result was a mural that's both visual and interactive.
"We used color palates that were a combination of palates that would be good for individuals with low vision, who have experienced color blindness, but also reflect the autistic community, and really show the spectrum and celebrate the spectrum," Kirk said.
City leaders said they hope the mural can help create a contemporary narrative of what it means to be a person with a disability.
"Disability impacts every identity; including making sure that people with disabilities and people who are Black and Brown in Chicago see representation in the mural," said Rachel Arfa, commissioner of the Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities.
"I think it's a good education tool for individuals within the community, but also for those of us that aren't, so we can start to understand the different ways senses and sensory uses are important," Kirk said.
The mural was unveiled along with a new career center. The center is staffed with career placement counselors, who specialize in assisting job seekers with disabilities.
