CTA Unveils Renderings For Red Line Station Artwork
CHICAGO (CBS) -- CTA Red Line stops are about to get a classy little makeover thanks to the work of local artists which will be installed very soon.
The city of Chicago and the CTA unveiled renderings on Monday for original artwork that will be installed on eight South Side Red Line stations between the Cermak-Chinatown stop and the 87th Street station.
"Through the artwork, we can tell the story of that neighborhood and that community," said Mayor Rahm Emanuel. "Each of the artists has figured out a way of using the windows and the space there."
The artwork is the final component of the $425 million Red Line South Reconstruction project, which saw the closure of the south end of the Red Line for five months in 2013 while the track was replaced.
The artists for the works include:
- Cermak-Chinatown: Indira F. Johnson (Evanston)
- Sox-35th: Paula Henderson (Chicago)
- 47th: Andrew Hall (Chicago)
- Garfield: Cecil McDonald, Jr. (Chicago)
- 63rd: Emmanuel Pratt (Chicago) and Olalekan Jeyifous (Brooklyn, NY)
- 69th: Douglas Fogelson (Chicago)
- 79th: McArthur Binion (Chicago)
- 87th: Thomas Lucas (Chicago)
The CTA awarded the contracts last January to local artists to create new works for the stations. The Cermak-Chinatown station will be the first to have the new artwork installed. According to the CTA, there are already more than 50 works of art at 41 stations.
The city has commissioned Indira Johnson to adorn the Chinatown station.
"Chinatown is a gateway to larger neighborhood, which includes a lot of other cultures and ethnicities," said Johnson.
Andrew Hall designed the art for the 47th Street station. He wants the city to know, someone from his neighborhood, Englewood can enrich the lives of thousands of commuters.
"What I try to do is try to do something positive to know that someone from Chicago is actually coming up on top," said Hall.
All the art should be installed by this time next year.
An artwork program for the 95th Street station will be developed by artist Theater Gates. The station will be rebuilt and expanded in late 2014.
