Jackson Park 'Ground Healing' Ceremony Makes Way for New Yoko Ono Art Installation

This afternoon, a "ground healing" (versus a ground breaking) ceremony is taking place in Jackson Park that will eventually introduce Chicagoans to a new art installation from Yoko Ono titled "SKY LANDING." The installation is one part of an ongoing activation and revitalization effort from the nonprofit Project 120, which seeks to draw inspiration from Frederick Law Olmsted's vision for the park while introducing updates and new installations that will appeal to a 21st century audience. The design of Ono's installation is still a bit of mystery, but it will be located at the former site of the Phoenix Pavilion, a gift from Japan that was originally assembled for the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893.

And similar to the gifting of the Phoenix Pavilion, Ono's new installation is symbolic in the sense that it will represent the ongoing relationship and peace between the East and the West. The Phoenix Pavilion not only referenced the mythical bird, but it also symbolized the city's rebirth after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. According to Project 120, the new SKY LANDING installation will bring Ono's "personal sense of hopefulness to the public realm and the intention is that visitors will feel a communal connection to Earth and Sky when experiencing the work."

The new installation is coming to fruition via a collaboration of several stakeholders, including the Chicago Park District, wHY, Heritage Landscapes, NRH Arts and others. SKY LANDING will be completed by next summer, and may even find itself neighboring the Obama Presidential Center if the Obama Foundation chooses to build at the Jackson Park location.

·SKY LANDING by Yoko Ono [Project 120]
·Think the Obama Library Proposal is Divisive? Try Yoko Ono [Curbed Chicago]
·Previous Jackson Park coverage [Curbed Chicago]