Art on theMART in Chicago will launch a series of new projections starting July 6

In partnership with Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, Art on theMART will launch a series of new projections saluting Chicago-based musicians in honor of the City’s Year of Chicago Music celebration, Frida Kahlo and the Obamas. Starting July 6, all projections will be shown nightly on the façade of theMART at 9:00 and 9:30 p.m., with a preview of the projections displayed on July 5. All projections will be shown through Sept. 16. 

Art on theMART can best be experienced for free from the jetty section of the Chicago Riverwalk on Wacker Drive between Wells Street and Franklin Street, where accompanying audio is also available.

Year of Chicago Music 

The Year of Chicago Music series will include three projections:  

Footnotes, an animated projection focused on Chicago footwork, produced by artists and filmmakers Wills Glasspiegel and Brandon K. Calhoun, featuring original music by DJ Spinn, the Chicago Bucket Boys, Angel Bat Dawid, Elisha Chandler and Amal Hubert from Hypnotic Brass Band. –

– the light of the dark, created by the Chicago-based, Grammy Award-winning ensemble Eighth Blackbird and new media artist and filmmaker Xuan, featuring music by renowned composer and Bang on a Can co-founder Michael Gordon, written for and recorded by the ensemble, as the inspiration for projections by Xuan. –

– Woven, created by visual artist Selina Trepp and musician Dan Bitney, collaborating as Spectralina, interlacing music inspired by Chicago’s rich musical history with hand-drawn animations of images of woven patterns found in the culturally diverse neighborhoods. 

Frida Kahlo

On the occasion of the Frida Kahlo: Timeless exhibition at the Cleve Carney Museum of Art and the McAninch Arts Center at the College of DuPage, a projection will debut featuring several of Kahlo’s most recognizable works including Self Portrait with Small Monkey (1945) and Self Portrait in a Velvet Dress (1926). Accompanied by an orchestral score from Mexican composer Arturo Márquez, recorded by New Philharmonic, the projection commemorates Kahlo’s artistic legacy. 

The Obama Portraits

In conjunction with the Art Institute of Chicago’s presentation of The Obama Portraits, Art on theMART presents a dynamically animated projection of the portraits of resident Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama by Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald, respectively. Former Chicago residents, the Obamas have a unique connection to the city. Wiley painted President Obama against greenery, with chrysanthemums, the official flower of Chicago. Amy Sherald captured the former first lady against light-blue ground, sitting and gazing directly at the viewer. Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald are the first African American artists commissioned to paint portraits for the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery’s collection of a former President and First Lady. A musical score accompanies the piece.