Art Institute’s Growing ‘Project Windows’ Initiative Gets A Boost From Northwest Side Businesses

NORWOOD PARK — Chicagoans looking to get their hot dog fix at Superdawg Drive-In can now get it with a side of fine art.

Superdawg, 6363 N. Milwaukee Ave., is participating in Project Windows, an initiative created by the Art Institute of Chicago to bring art into the neighborhoods. Participating Project Windows artists create works inspired by the Art Institute’s annual exhibit. The art pieces are then displayed at local businesses, libraries and other community spaces throughout the city. Residents can vote on the installations through Aug. 18, and winners will be announced Aug. 20.

Launched in 2012, Project Windows has grown from just 20 participants to 91, Nora Gainer, executive director of Civic Relations and Partnerships for the Art Institute, said in an email. This year, local artists created works inspired by the Art Institute’s Willem de Kooning exhibition.

The Far Northwest Side’s 39th Ward started participating in Project Windows three years ago and is now home to one of the city’s largest groups of installations. Gainer said the wards with the most participation this year are the 39th, 4th, 40th and 48th.

The 39th Ward’s six installations include Superdawg, the People’s Gas building at 4025 W. Peterson Ave., the Pulaski Elston Business Association at 4143 W. Lawrence Ave., the Edgebrook Branch of the Chicago Public Library at 5331 W. Devon Ave., a Northeastern Illinois University building at 3416 W. Bryn Mawr Ave. and the Edgebrook Sauganash Chamber of Commerce at 4754 W. Peterson Ave.

Ald. Samantha Nugent (39th) said she called a lot of local business owners and community leaders to try to get more locations involved this year.

“The Art Institute is one of the biggest art museums in the country, and they have some of the best exhibits in the world,” Nugent said. “The idea of bringing these world-renowned artists into our neighborhoods I think makes the art and the Art Institute more accessible.”

The alderwoman said Project Windows also highlights local businesses and the Northwest Side’s growing arts community.

Eric Craig, a Jefferson Park-based artist, took inspiration from Kooning’s abstract style to craft the Superdawg piece, placing the restaurant’s iconic rooftop hot dog statues in a convertible surrounded by a sea of colorful diamond shapes.

Scott Berman, one of Superdawg’s co-owners and the son of the business’s founders, said his family has long been supporters of the Art Institute.

Don Drucker, another Superdawg co-owner and Berman’s brother-in-law, said it made sense to unite Superdawg and the Art Institute because both institutions are Chicago landmarks. He also noted that Superdawg and the Art Institute are featured in the book, “1,000 Places to See Before You Die.”

“We’re in the farthest northwest corner of the city, so it’s cool to be connected to Downtown in this way,” said Laura Ustick, Berman’s daughter and the general manager of Superdawg’s Wheeling location.

Nugent encouraged neighbors to come by the 39th Ward to see all of the area’s Project Windows displays. She said visitors should “make a day of it” and check out the ward’s many businesses, parks and restaurants.

Nugent also said she wants the ward to have even more installations next year.

You can see all of the Project Windows displays and vote on your favorites here. The Art Institute’s Willem de Kooning Drawing exhibition will be up through Sept. 20.

Gainer said the more than 100 local artists who participated in Project Windows this year help “remind us of how art can be a daily inspiration at our coffee shop, an added joy to our favorite boutique or a part of our daily commute.”

“Art is essential to our city’s identity,” she said.