Monday, February 1, 2010

Mural Competition Celebrates Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.



Hostelling International Chicago and The School of the Art Institute of Chicago recently announced the opening of the "Until Justice Rolls Down Like Waters" exhibition as part of the Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Mural Competition. The opening reception at which awards were announced took place on January 18, 2010 from 5 – 7pm at the hostel.


As participants in the Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Mural Competition, twelve student artists were challenged to create temporary works of art on the second floor windows of the hostel that not only commemorate the life and work of Dr. King, but also explore the continuing struggle for social justice today.

The exhibition was a juried competition, with judges from Hostelling International Chicago, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and previous Competition winners conferring awards. The 1st Place Prize was three-nights’ accommodation courtesy of Hostelling International – San Francisco, Downtown with an airfare voucher. 2nd Place Prize was two nights’ accommodation courtesy of Hostelling International – Madison with inter-city transportation. 3rd Place Prize was a $50 gift card courtesy of Utrecht Art Supplies.

The exhibition also featurs the "Our World – People, Places and Culture" photography collection from Winnipeg-based photographer Keith Levit. The collection features 25 portraits and landscapes captured during Levit’s travels, from the sand dunes of Namibia to the mountaintops of Peru, and speak to human connections across cultures and continents.

The twelve muralists were current students at or recent graduates from the Columbia College, Harold Washington College, Illinois Institute of Art – Chicago, Malcom X College, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and Southampton Solent University: Katie Armentrout, Zebadiah Arrington, Alex Cohen, Alyssa Doren, Jazmin Giron, Antonia Gurkovska, Alice Jingxuan Hu, Rocky Loera, Mary Catherine Quinn, Cordarice Mark Thomas, Sho Tsunoda, Daniel Williams.

1st place winner was Antonia Gurkovska (see photo). To see photos of all the reception and all the murals, check out HI-Chicago's flickr set to the right.

The exhibition will be on display from January 18 – March 31, 2010, at Hostelling International Chicago, 24 East Congress Parkway. The exhibition is free and open to the public 9:00 am to 9:00 pm, seven days a week. The artists’ reception will take place on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, January 18, 2010, from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm. The Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Mural Competition is part of the ongoing collaboration between Hostelling International Chicago and The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

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