The Commons Artist Project: Joan Giroux

Giroux’s project for the Commons is partially inspired by recent land-rights activism in Chicago and across the United States. Using mapmaking and analog games, the artist invites visitors to consider their role in shaping the future of open spaces in our cities and in preserving public natural resources. Her project focuses on local environmental questions, with an interest in how Chicago’s residents and government define and maintain public land in the city’s diverse neighborhoods. Visitors are invited to join the artist and each other throughout the summer to play, imagine, and learn about our local ecologies. Through the exhibition, Giroux asks, “What can we do to prevent the loss of open green spaces threatened by political forces and commercial development?”

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website.