STUDIO Barnes

Block Party
Completed 2021

This installation is born from Chicago’s rich history of annual block parties that provide necessary resources to vulnerable and engaged residents, particularly on the South and West Sides. These gatherings are self-funded, self-organized, and self-policed. They are an example of the many acts of civic responsibility that occur routinely in disenfranchised neighborhoods when residents take matters into their own hands. A certifiable act of celebratory vigilantism, the block party does not obey traffic regulations, it does not obey permit jurisdiction, and it most certainly does not obey traditional urban principles. These characteristics of community and accountability inspired the Studio’s project in the North Lawndale community.

Client: Chicago Architecture Biennial
Collaborators: Shawhin Roudbari, Iker Gil, WACA, Open Architecture Chicago, Freedom House
Fabrication: BKE Designs
Photography: MAW Photos

Filed under:
Installation, Architecture

Porch Politics
Completed 2021

Porch Politics is a multi-media installation that explores the communal aspects of the American Porch. Often ignored and underutilized, this space is the source of many acts of defiance, refusal, and liberation. Porch Politics imposes physical steps, within the School of the Art Institute of Chicago entry gallery to be occupied, climbed, and conquered. While literal porch steps foreground the installation, a large scale mixed-media drawing captures the local housing typologies of the Austin community. An area that is often avoided and mischaracterized is given prominence and celebration. Porch Politics challenges you to rethink spatial occupation and collective community.

Client: School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Fabrication: Building Brown Workshop
Photography: Griffin Imaging Studio

Filed under:
Installation