Chicago’s First Public Art Project to Suffrage Leaders: Call to Action
Project Update
The first public artwork commemorating the Women’s Suffrage Movement in Chicago, On The Wings of Change by Diosa (Jasmina Cazacu) is complete. Speak Up! by Dorian Sylvain, a monument to the United States’ first female Vice President, Kamala Harris has been delayed.
The mural installation has been blocked in Chicago’s South Loop because it was deemed controversial by neighboring property owner. A new location is needed.
Read the full statement from the commissioning committee
Full statement from the commissioning committee and stakeholders here
Here’s what you can do.
Help us get Speak Up installed. We need to find an equally prominent space for this powerful and timely public artwork.
About This Project
The Wabash Arts Corridor in conjunction with Chicago Womxn’s Suffrage Tribute Committee is commissioning two murals celebrating women and the work of local activists in obtaining the right to vote and the modern struggle for equality.
On the Wings of Change by Diosa (Jasmina Cazacu) located on the 33 Ida B Wells building, honors the work of Chicago suffragists in obtaining the right to vote. Through portraiture, this mural ensures that the stories of women’s activism are told and not forgotten. The suffragists included in the mural are: Mary Livermore, Myra Bradwell, Frances Willard, Fannie Barrier Williams, Jane Addams, Catharine Waugh McCulloch, Ida B Wells, Grace Wilbur Trout, Mary Fitzbutler Waring, and Agnes Nestor.
The sister mural, Speak Up by Dorian Sylvain located on the University Center, is a text-based accompaniment to the suffrage portraits. Consisting of the phrase “I’m Speaking,” quoted from Vice President Harris in the 2020 Vice Presidential debate, this work references both the power gained and struggle for equality that continues to this day.
History of Chicago Women’s Activism
Chicago women were critical in the suffrage movement throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. They articulated strategies and developed techniques that played a significant role in state and national campaigns. The campaign for women’s voting rights in Illinois began in 1869 with the founding of the first woman’s suffrage organization in the state. Long before the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution granted the right to vote to all American women, in 1913 Illinois became the first state east of the Mississippi to give women the right to vote. The vote was limited, but powerful. Illinois women were able to vote in all elections not prohibited by the State Constitution and this included voting for President. In 1919, Illinois was the first state to ratify the 19th Amendment.
Site
The Suffrage murals will be situated in the highest visibility area of the Wabash Arts Corridor and the South Loop, where over 10,000 pedestrians and commuters pass every day, on foot, by car, and most importantly on the L train that has the best eye-level view of all. This mural-covered corner is one of the most widely photographed public art destinations in the city, serving as a backdrop to numerous TV and film projects. The address for the murals is at the appropriately named building 33 E. Ida B. Wells Drive.
About the Artists
Diosa (Jasmina Cazacu) is a Spanish-Romanian painter based out of Chicago, IL. She uses surreal, dreamlike imagery to create fantastical scenes that dare her audience to challenge their perceptions, question reality, and appreciate the magic that is always flourishing beneath the surface of the mundane. Diosa’s pieces ultimately function as social critiques exploring themes such as feminism & social politics. The topic of femininity is prevalent throughout Diosas’s work; her audience is continually challenged to consider an analytic approach to its concepts of and interactions with the feminine.
Dorian Sylvain is a painter whose color and texture explore ornamentation, pattern, and design as identifiers of cultural and historical foundations. She is a studio painter and muralist, as well as an art educator, curator, and community planner. Much of her public work addresses issues of beautification inspired by color palettes and patterns found throughout the African diaspora, particularly architecture. Core to her practice is collaborating with children and communities to elevate neighborhood aesthetics and foster shared understanding. In addition to commissioned studio and mural work, Sylvain has led public art projects over the past four decades that empower community and expose children to art making. Partnering with such organizations as the South Side Community Art Center, Hyde Park Art Center, National Museum of Mexican Art, DuSable Museum, Chicago Park District, and the Chicago Public Arts Group, she has devoted her work to building the next generation of “cultural keepers.”
About the Chicago Womxn’s Suffrage Tribute Committee
The Chicago Womxn’s Suffrage Tribute Committee was formed in 2020 to honor the work of Illinois women for voting and other rights for women, and to ensure that the stories of women’s activism are told and not forgotten. The focus is to create public art projects that will reach wide audiences and serve to mark the work of women activists in public spaces and venues. The suffrage mural is the first of the projects they seek to create. Others include installing historic markers at women’s suffrage sites (five markers are currently underway), and state-wide recognition of female political trailblazers through public art and other projects.
The Chicago Womxn’s Suffrage Tribute Committee: Meg Duguid, Michelle Duster, Catherine Mardikes, Kris Nesbitt, Lori Osborne, and Neysa Page-Lieberman
These projects are made possible by donations from individual supporters and Chicago Foundation for Women, Jane Walker by Johnnie Walker, The Harnisch Foundation, Chicago Women’s History Center, and University Center.
CONTACT: Meg Duguid, Chief Curator, Wabash Arts Corridor/ mduguid@colum.edu
Images From Top to Bottom:
Diosa (Jasmina Cazacu), On the Wings of Change
Site for the Murals
Site for Suffrage Mural 2, 240’ long x 30’ high, Dorian Sylvain
Dorian Sylvain, Remembering AfriCOBRA Community Wall, 2019, Bronzeville Mariano’s
Dorian Sylvain, Margaret Gwendolyn, 2020, The Forum Theatre
Dorian Sylvain, Banking on the Future, 2017, (abandoned) South-Shore-Bank