Artists examine social effects--positive and negative--of mega events

Chicago Program students visited Gallery 400 for two of its exhibits: Global Cities/Model Worlds  and “Pocket Guide to Hell.”  In the Global Cities/Model Worlds exhibit, artists Ryan Griffis, Lize Mogel and Sarah Ross examine the architectural and social effects—positive and negative—of so-called mega events such as the Olympics and World’s Fairs.  It’s amazing to see how many cities actually end up getting hurt by hosting these large events.  The overall cost to the city; the impact on the communities that are displaced is usually not worth the light the event shines on the city.  Promises for low income housing being built are made, and what’s built ends up being one-third of the housing the event displaced.  Where do these people who have been displaced go? 

The “Pocket Guide to Hell” exhibit focused on the work of Steele MacKaye.  The works highlighted his vision for the city and his dream of building the world’s largest theater—the Spectatorium—for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition that never got realized.