A Place of Light & Wind (For Lost Prairies)
| Nov-Dec 2014 : The Violet Hour, Chicago |
DID YOU KNOW THAT ONLY 1% OF ILLINOIS'S PRAIRIES REMAIN?
Illinois is known as the Prairie State, but over time, our native prairies have been reduced to less than 1% of their original area. As a result, most of us have never really experienced our native ecosystem, which has largely been replaced by agriculture or lost to other development — a phenomenon being repeated across the country. This means increasingly scarce habitat and food sources for pollinators, like bees and butterflies, which depend upon this special ecosystem.
Kendler’s project, created as Artist-in-Residence with NRDC, raises awareness of this issue by transforming the façade of James Beard Award winning speakeasy, The Violet Hour, using images of native Illinois flowers & pollinators to suggest a flourishing prairie. Hidden within the mural are a variety of pollinators embellished with QR codes. Upon scanning, passersby can sign up to receive their own native prairie seeds in the mail, creating personal connections to a disappearing ecosystem, and bringing the vision of the mural to backyards all over Chicago—while, in the process, providing valuable habitat for pollinators.
#FORLOSTPRAIRIES