The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), in partnership with the Chicago Film Archives (CFA), today announced the launch of a new, one-of-a-kind temporary art installation now playing at the Cicero Green Line station -- and is part of CTA’s ongoing commitment to enhance the customer traveling experience, and to expand public art to bus and rail facilities throughout the City.
The new, temporary art installation known as, we love, is a filmic exhibition of home movies and amateur films selected from collections housed and preserved at CFA. The video, which has a runtime of approximately 48-minutes, will be projected onto a wall in the mezzanine area of the Cicero Green Line station (4800 W. Lake St.). The video will run day and night beginning today through mid-March 2024.
“We often tout that the public artwork featured in our stations is a glimpse into the windows of the community surrounding the station, but in this rare instance, this public art is offering a glimpse into the homes and lives of Chicagoans over the last several decades,” said CTA President Dorval R. Carter, Jr. “It is our great pleasure to partner with the Chicago Film Archives to offer this unique, temporary public art installation, which offers riders a welcomed new addition to their daily commutes that cannot be seen or experienced anywhere else in this city.”
Scores of families from Chicago and the region are reflected in this exhibition of films that document and celebrate everyday lives. Manifesting love, belonging, and safety, we love is an homage to home movie makers and honors the people who ride CTA trains every day.
“As we sifted through our collections for footage to include in this exhibition, we discovered how often the images from any family's home movies are universally relatable. We can easily recognize ourselves in these historic images of small moments: family rituals, loved ones, and the personal shenanigans we all act out in our private lives,” said Nancy Watrous
Founder and Executive Director. “We offer this installation to CTA riders as a public celebration of everyday Chicagoans, past and present.”
CTA’s collection of public art has nearly doubled over the last decade to include more than 70 permanent works of art across all eight rail lines and multiple bus facilities. This dynamic and immersive collection of public art includes mosaics, art glass, sculptures and interactive installations created by nationally and internationally acclaimed artists, many of whom are local.
To learn more about Chicago Film Archives, visit chicagofilmarchives.org.
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