A public-private initiative to turn the limestone facade of Chicago’s 1930 art deco Merchandise Mart into a nearly three-acre riverfront digital canvas is officially forging ahead.
Dubbed ‘Art on theMart,’ the array of 34 video projectors will debut in October according to Sunday’s joint announcement by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, and property owner Vornado Realty Trust.
Today we announced Art on theMart, a permanent large-scale lighting installation that will project across nearly 3 acres of the river-facing façade of theMART, the first of this size and scope! #ChiPublicArt pic.twitter.com/oSkfptE6Fo
— Mayor Rahm Emanuel (@ChicagosMayor) February 25, 2018
San Francisco-based Obscura Digital was tapped lead the project last year. Though the group created similar albeit temporary video projections on other iconic buildings such as the Guggenheim Museum, Sydney Opera House, and the Vatican, ‘Art on theMart’ will be the largest permanent installation of its kind in the world. Obscura is partnering with local architecture firm Valerio Dewalt Train Associates.
The curated display will be entirely dedicated to public art and will feature zero commercial branding or sponsorship. The Mart’s owners and the City of Chicago are expected to enter into a 30-year agreement to facilitate the project, pending City Council approval. Vornado will cover the installation’s $8 million price tag as well as its estimated $500,000 annual operating costs.
Details, such as hours of operation, are still being finalized at this time. The Mart’s chief operating officer Myron Maurer tells the Chicago Tribune that ‘Art on theMart’ could run for perhaps “two hours a night, maybe five nights a week, and 10 months out of the year.”
The idea of lighting up the Mart in such a way goes back to the Lighting Framework Plan commissioned the Mayor’s Office and Choose Chicago in 2014. The conceptual study also suggested creative ways to illuminate other waterfront structures such as Chicago’s movable bridges, the Civic Opera House, and Lower Wacker Drive.
Home to wholesale decorating showrooms, art galleries, and flourishing technology incubators, Chicago’s 4 million-square-foot Merchandise Mart held the title of the world’s largest building when it opened nearly nine decades ago. The enormous structure was officially rebranded ‘theMart’ several years ago.
- City mulls plan to light up Merchandise Mart [Curbed Chicago]
- City aunches Ambitious ‘Lighting Framework Plan’ [Curbed Chicago]
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