Lighthouses on The Mag Mile
Friedman Place is participating in “Lighthouses on The Mag Mile,” a citywide free public art exhibition celebrating the call to action for access and inclusion for people with disabilities.
Are you looking for a fun, free way to spend an afternoon viewing art while learning about people with disabilities in Chicago?
This fabulous exhibition can be found along Chicago’s famous North Michigan Avenue, from June 19, through August 11. This world class event features 51 six-foot lighthouse sculptures, created by national and local Chicago artists, many with disabilities.
Friedman Place’s contribution: “Our Woven Lighthouse” was created in our weaving studio. It involved taking a 40+ foot piece of fabric, woven collaboratively on a community loom by weavers who are blind and disabled, and wrapping it around the structure. The various sections of the weaving are made of different types of threads and yarn – some very find and smooth, others thick and rough. It provides a ranging and varied textural experience to the person viewing and touching the completed lighthouse. The colors too vary by section, some being muted while others are quite bright. This piece has been selected in part because it shows weavers of various skill levels responding to pattern, texture and color, jointly creating an ultimate expression of their collaborative work. The final ” woven lighthouse” is a beautiful, visually arresting, experiential beacon for access and inclusion for people with disabilities.
Friedman Place’s weavers represent a unique point of view. Our Therapeutic Weaving Program functions as a creative outlet for individuals who are living with a disability or multiple disabilities, blindness being the common factor. Our weavers are always eager to present their work and share with others what they can accomplish when the all-too-common barriers to inclusion are lowered. The opportunity to have their collaboratively created artwork displayed to so many thousands of people through a public display of this type is extremely empowering, compelling and validating.
The agency’s Therapeutic Weaving Program is part of the David Herman Learning Center, which honors the legacy of lifelong learner, David Herman, a 25-year Agency resident who was blind and deaf since early childhood. Friedman Place residents are empowered through the center to pursue learning opportunities and technology skills to their greatest desire and capacity. The Therapeutic Weaving Program – located at Friedman Place – provides residents an opportunity to create original, one-of-a-kind weavings and in the process enhance the individual’s senses of self-efficacy and worth as well as general learning and socialization, as most weaving is done individually but in a group setting. All aspects of the program are educational and facilitate learning to the resident’s greatest desire and capacity.
Friedman Place’s lighthouse is sponsored by Grand Hotel, Mackinac Island, Michigan.
