Encoded Memories is an art exhibit coming to the Main Library Gallery in May. Revolving around themes of time, place, and memory, it will feature images showing Oak Park past and present, including historical scenes from the library’s Special Collections.
But there’s a twist! The work that will be on display in the second-floor gallery isn’t quite finished yet, and the artist behind the project wants your help.
Betty Kim, a local “lens-based artist,” is asking for community members to contribute and help shape the Encoded Memories exhibit in different ways. You can get involved by participating in upcoming printmaking workshops and/or submitting your own images to be used in a collage.
“We all have a story to tell, and that’s what I’m hoping we can do together as a community,” Kim said.
Try your hand at a printmaking workshop
At the first workshop in the Main Library Community Space in March, participants sandwiched carbon copy paper between sheets of paper.
On top were photo printouts of Oak Park street scenes. When participants traced over the photos, the images transferred to the blank paper on the bottom.
One participant described the process as “meditative.”
Upcoming workshops
Drop in to make some collaged ink drawings using carbon copy paper.
You can use printed images from the library’s Special Collections, which feature historical images in and around Oak Park, or bring your own images to use.
- Thursday, March 27, 5:30-7:30 pm, Lobby Community Space
- Friday, April 4, 11 am-12:30 pm, Main Library Creative Studio
- Tuesday, April 15, 6-7:30 pm, Main Library Creative Studio
You can choose to take your finished print home with you, or leave it for Kim (pictured below) to incorporate in the Encoded Memories exhibit in May.
Send an image for the artist to use
In addition to pieces that will hang on the gallery walls, Kim plans to create a transparent window collage on the second-floor windows that look out over Lake Street. The design will pay homage to Frank Lloyd Wright’s Window (1912, currently held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art).
Using Wright’s design as a starting point for the work, the piece will embed images of Oak Park throughout the stained-glass design.
If you have a photo that you would like the artist to consider using, please submit the digital files through this form on our website.
