“The Phyllis Wheatley Home served Chicago’s black community for 75 years and over 50 years in this location — the preservation of this building will keep alive the memories of the black women who devoted their work to protecting and advancing black women’s rights.
“At present, this building with significant historical memory and meaning faces an uncertain future with the threat of its demolition. Preservation Chicago has named the Phyllis Wheatley Home as one of the seven most endangered buildings of 2021 in Chicago. The Chicago Architectural Club (CAC) is calling for new visions in the form of posters as the first step to initiate crowd-sourcing ideas to save this site and honor its memory by imagining a new life and purpose for the Phyllis Wheatley Home.
“Dr. Joann Tate – owner of the Phyllis Wheatley Home – envisions the continued future of the home as “a transformative oasis for Black Women who need any type of positive and/or productive transitioning”. What is the future of the last standing Phyllis Wheatley Home in Chicago?
“The Chicago Architectural Club is calling for digital 11×17 posters – be it in the form of a sketch, a design proposal, or written statement. This does not need to be a formal design proposal. This call for ideas is open to architects, designers, artists, historians, students, policy makers, and anyone interested in Chicago’s history and the design of a more equitable future.
“Selected posters will be displayed in the fall of 2021 as a Partner Program of the Chicago Architectural Biennial ‘The Available City’. The following materials should be submitted:
“One or multiple (maximum of two) 11 inch x 17 inch poster (tabloid) oriented in portrait format @ 300 dpi resolution; RGB. Participants can submit more than one entry. Each entry can be a maximum of 2 portrait sheets.
“Submissions are electronic and submitted via email only to: competitionentries@chicagoarchitecturalclub.org. The email subject line should read ‘2021 CAB Partner Program_Phyllis Wheatley Home’. There is no submission fee.
“This is not an architectural design competition. Selected entries will be published on the CAC’s website and social media and will be exhibited during the 2021 Chicago Architecture Biennial “The Available City”.
“Call for ideas: Thursday, August 26, 2021
“Poster Submission Deadline: Sunday, September 26, 2021, at 5PM CST
“Questions should be emailed to: competitionentries@chicagoarchitecturalclub.org
Learn more at Chicago Architecture Club
Preservation Chicago Phyllis Wheatley Home, a 2021 Chicago 7 Most Endangered 2021 Article