BRIDGEPORT — The Chicago River's newest attraction — a "floating museum art barge" — will dock at Bridgeport's newest riverside attraction for a week of concerts, art exhibits and demonstrations.
The Floating Museum is a barge that travels the Chicago River bringing collaborative art, community forums and performances. The museum is "site responsive" in that it tailors its performances and offerings to its location, according to the museum's website.
The museum's first ever neighborhood docking will begin Monday and stay until Aug. 13 at the Eleanor Street Boathouse, 2828 S. Eleanor St.
Programming will discuss the "overlap of industry, nature, art and community" that is indicative of the industrial south branch of the Chicago River, and particularly the "Bubbly Creek" site near the new park, according to the event's website.
The museum project is plays off of the river's industrial past. Its 100-foot barge holds "art storage containers" one might see on a barge, except these can be morphed into art pieces and contain individual pieces of the museum's collection, said Faheem Majeed, co-director of the Floating Museum.
The barge also has a LED screen and a large, bright yellow sculpture of a man's head.
"We're really excited to be here," he said. "Hopefully this will be the start of more things to come."
The majority of the museum's programming for the week will take place at the park. But on Friday, Aug. 11, the museum will host a celebration of street art at Pilsen's Rootwork Gallery, 645 W. 18th St.
Majeed said the museum generally likes to host programming at a neighborhood business or institution to highlight local artists and boost the local economy in the process.
"It's a variety of art from all over the city and from organizations all over the city," he said.
Scheduled events include movie screenings, a collaborative building project and a discussion of the area's history and future. The entire schedule of events is below.
