By Erica Gunderson for WTTW
The broad front lawn at Carl Schurz High School in Chicago’s Irving Park neighborhood is bisected by two laundry lines strung between trees and festooned with bright yellow ribbons that flap and rustle in the breeze. Scrawled in black marker on the hundreds of ribbons are personal messages about racism.
The ropes and ribbons, in place since Thursday, are one portion of the three-part community-based art project “#AMENDS,” which seeks to end racism by beginning with the self. It’s the work of life and art partners Nick Cave and Bob Faust at their multidisciplinary creative space and gallery Facility, right across the street from the school.
“My work has always been based around issues of race,” said Cave. “So when the George Floyd incident took place and the outcry was so enormous, we just thought, we have to go into action.”