18th Street CTA Station - Francisco Mendoza, Forgotten Community Monument

We are excited to participate in the #ChicagoMonuments Project! 

As a Community Partner Program, we are presenting:

"18th Street CTA Station - Francisco Mendoza, Forgotten Community Monument". 

The art on the 18th Street CTA Station is one of the most distinct on the Pink Line. Although it has been weathered and now fading, just like Pilsen and its community, the imagery still holds strong and exudes a colorful cultural environment.

As the community has changed and many residents who saw this artwork created over 20 years ago are now gone, we may lose the history and story of how and who colorfully transformed this train station. Through our video blog Pilsen Pod, we are sharing this story of who Francisco Mendoza was to Pilsen. In this video, we share conversations with artists, students, and community members and keep alive the influence and impact he had as an artist and educator. The art at the 18th Street CTA Train Station has been more than just an old community project. It is a visual monument that remains a strong piece of Pilsen's visual character. Join us for a Live Video Premier via Zoom. Q&A / Discussion will be immediately following the video.

Zoom Link:

https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYudO2gqT0qG9zUgO7p7cy03XVDwggJvVu3

Chicago Monuments Project

Monuments and memorials have become a focal point for conversation, protest and

activism in the city of Chicago. In response, the City has created a committee to review

the city’s collection of monuments and recommend solutions. The Chicago Monuments

Project intends to grapple with the often unacknowledged – or forgotten – history

associated with the City’s various municipal art collections and provides a vehicle to

address the hard truths of Chicago’s racial history, confront the ways in which that

history has and has not been memorialized and develop a framework for marking public

space that elevates new ways to memorialize Chicago’s true and complete history. To

learn more and share your thoughts, please visit www.ChicagoMonuments.org – and

join the conversation on social media using #ChicagoMonuments.