The 14th Chicago Bike Winter Art Show ran from March 11-25, 2011 at Chicago Urban Art Society. Opening night coincided with Pilsen's popular 2nd Friday gallery scene drawing over 500 people. The March Critical Mass ride ended at CUAS with a big party featuring the 2nd Bike Winter Fashion Show produced by Rapid Transit Cycleshop. Generous funding was provided by Chicago Bike Winter, everyday is a great day to ride a bike!
Artist Maria Scillepi gave 30 local messengers GPS trackers to wear for one day. The result was the riders became living brushstrokes creating a motion portrait of a day in the life for Chicago bike messengers.
A psychedelic introspection into the colliding world consciousness of the new millennia and the bicycle revolution. Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent, bioluminescent rain forest frogs and deep space utilize interdisciplinary puppetry and original music for this live, synesthetic experience.
Mar 11, 8 & 10pm | Mar 25, 8pm
For more info, visit www.lollyextract.com.
January 24, 2008
Chicago Public Radio, WBEZ
Bikers Bring Art to
the Masses
Tomorrow is the last Friday of January and a cold day for Critical Mass, a monthly event where bikers swarm the city streets. But this month an art show is giving riders some creative inspiration for braving the elements. [audio + text]
> see all press clips
Opening Night
Fri Mar 11, 6pm–11pm
Chicago Urban Art Society
2229 South Halsted Street
Rahm Emanuel has promised to add 25 miles of Bike Lanes per year, which is three times the rate we are used to. Now that the election hype is over and budget cuts loom, will campaign promises materialize to make Chicago a truly bike friendly city? Opening night featured two projects that illustrate the challenges and opportunities ahead of the bike community.
The X-ray Project
Co-curator Stuart Hall has collected a series of X-rays from bike accidents across the city. The stories behind the broken bones help flesh out the circumstances cyclists fall from grace. Sometimes it's your own fault, other times the city's infrastructure conspires against you setting a trap on your ride to work. Open metal grate bridges are the weak link in making Chicago safe for bikes, and it looks like it will be a while before the situation is corrected. Consider yourself warned.
Beyond Bike Lanes: A Design Charrette
A design charrette is an exercise that lets many people provide input on a design model. Using the Chicago Bike Map and the Bike 2015 Plan as a springboard, we invited people to map out their ride to work, pinpoint issues that affect safety, and identify ambitious plans for the future. John Lankford, executive director of Walk Bike Transit, will help you identify the wards you live and work in, and connect you with information on how to get more involved in the local politics that shape your day to day biking experience. Walk Bike Transit is a non-partisan political action committee fostering relationships between voters and locally-elected officials around active transportation issues.
2nd Bike Winter Fashion Show
by Rapid Transit Cycleshop
Friday March 25, 7pm – 1am
Chicago Urban Art Society
2229 South Halsted Street
Our closing night party featured locally designed and produced bike fashion and accessories for sale. The local bicyclerati brought their own rides and styles to the runway with a little help from the fashion savvy folks at Rapid Transit Cycleshop. The Racketeers got the party started early with beats and bike tricks, and DJs Droopy and Paul Fitz kept the party rolling late. [Photos by Jay Madden, Backstage photos Elise Robison]
> View event programs for 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008
