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CTA Chooses Artists for New Works in Eight Red Line Stations

By DNAinfo Staff on January 7, 2014 1:21pm

 The Cermak-Chinatown Red Line Station is one of eight that will get new artwork.
The Cermak-Chinatown Red Line Station is one of eight that will get new artwork.
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Flickr/CTA

CHICAGO — The CTA has chosen artists to create artwork for all eight Red Line stations between Cermak-Chinatown and 87th Street.

In June, the agency issued a call for artists resulting in 300 submissions. The list was whittled down by a selection committee and contracts were awarded as follows:

• Cermak-Chinatown: Indira F. Johnson, of Evanston. Johnson was responsible for the Ten Thousand Ripples series, which installed "emerging Buddha" sculptures throughout the Chicago area.

• Sox-35th: Paula Henderson, of Chicago.

• 47th: Andrew Hall, of Chicago.

• Garfield: Cecil McDonald Jr., of Chicago.

• 63rd: Emmanuel Pratt, of Chicago, and Olalekan Jeyifous, of Brooklyn

• 69th: Douglas Fogelson, of Chicago.

• 79th: McArthur Binion, of Chicago.

• 87th: Thomas Lucas, of Chicago.

The artists, including West Side resident Fogelson, learned Tuesday they were chosen for the project.

The artwork will be paid through federal funds and the total budget is $590,400. Work is expected to begin late this year.

Last year, the CTA completed a $425 million remake of the 10.2-mile stretch of the Red Line south of the Roosevelt. It included both trackwork and station improvements.

"Now, we will add the finishing touches to this project by working closely with these remarkable artists to commission new original works of art that will capture the spirit of each of the unique and diverse communities surrounding each station," CTA President Forrest Claypool said in a statement.

Fogelson said that the 69th Street station, where he regularly travels to, was one of his top choices to produce artwork for.

"Lem's, my favorite barbecue in Chicago, is nearby on 75th Street. I'm not a stranger to that area," Fogelson said. "I'm very excited. It's very early in the process right now," he added, echoing that any project will keep the station's neighbors in mind.

In July, the CTA announced that artist Theaster Gates would design a $1.3 million art project for the planned $240 million terminal at the 95th and Dan Ryan Red Line station.