Artists Depict Life on the Chicago River
Friends’ McCormick Bridgehouse & Chicago River Museum has announced the winners of its first annual Art Contest. The theme, “Life on the Chicago River,” presents artists with the unique opportunity to bring the health, vitality, dynamic history, and vibrant future of the Chicago-Calumet River system into representation in a range of mediums, including paintings, etchings, printmaking, collages, screen-printing, chalk, pastel, and charcoal drawings, spray paint art, and other hand-made illustrations.
The Bridgehouse Museum’s Art Contest reflects Friends’ commitment to not only showcasing the beauty of the Chicago-Calumet River system, but to amplifying creative and constructive community partnerships and building positive relationships between the people of the watershed and our river system. Artists were encouraged to think creatively and expansively about the theme, considering such questions as “how does art and artistic form and expression offer an important vision of our natural waterway?”
The five winners are all from Chicago and their works are featured prominently in the Bridgehouse Museum’s main corridor through October 28.
- Joel Berman, Avondale, Michigan Avenue Bridge/Watercolor
- Bill Carroll, Roscoe Village, River/Paper-cut
- Ryan Chester, Roscoe Village, “Three Part Combined” & “Michigan Avenue”/Drawings
- Ashley Kennedy, Buena Park, Angry 80’s Goose/Painting
- Liz Lehman, South Loop, Bubbly Beaver/Hand carved block. Hand printed, ink on paper
Joel Berman, Michigan Avenue Bridge/Watercolor
Bill Carroll, River/Paper-cut
Ryan Chester, “Three Part Combined”
Ryan Chester, “Michigan Avenue”/Drawings
Ashley Kennedy, Angry 80’s Goose/Painting
Liz Lehman, Bubbly Beaver/Hand carved block. Hand printed, ink on paper
The Bridgehouse Museum is open Wednesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., through October 28. General admission is always free for Friends of the Chicago River members, and only $8 for non-members. Adults over 62 years, students, and children ages 6-12 may pay a discounted rate of $6. Children under five are free. Guided Tours of the Bridgehouse Museum are available Friday and Saturday at 11:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. for $15.
