Louisville Visual Art

3 years after the I AM A MAN painting was elevated in Chicago the I AM SERIES is gearing up to complete the four-part collection of painterly photoreal murals this summer. Set in historic Uptown on Chicago's northside, I AM HERE is a 3000 sq ft landscape-oriented portrait that expresses "the village that it takes" to create change and the bravery exhibited in these elegant historic moments.

Please take five minutes and read below for more details at the heart of this painting.

Thank you so much for considering support of this series again.

We need the financial and material support of our family, friends, and past contributors to cross the finish-line of expenses related to this production. UV coating, lighting, documentation, and insurance protecting the work are some of the last expenses that need attention. Donations in kind of any services that will help, supply of UV protecting paints and any monochrome oil-based paints, artisan oils, or oil enamels would be more than welcome and appreciated.

Fiscal sponsorship through the nonprofit Louisville Visual Art makes PayPal receipts available through this fundraiser which helps our donors at tax time.

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I AM HERE is a 3000-square-foot hand-painted mural that reimagines a 1963 photograph by Danny Lyon. Taken in Atlanta, the mural depicts friends of Mr. Lyon and members of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee: Taylor Washington, Ivanhoe Donaldson, Joyce Ladner, Judy Richardson, George Greene, Seku Neblett and the late Congressman John Lewis. This museum-quality painting will stretch 39 feet wide and climb 76 feet high across the north facade of the Cornerstone Community Outreach Building. Located in Chicago’s historic Uptown Community, the surprise cast of painters executing the production are trade experts who specialize in large-scale murals. The completion of this project will correlate with Uptown Art Week, in June of 2023.

The fourth and final piece in the I AM SERIES, I AM HERE completes the project with an innocent deliberateness stylized in a voice resembling how we teach children to respond when their names are called during attendance. While bringing Lyon’s photograph “back to life,” I AM HERE is about stating one’s presence and taking accountability. This painting was curated and conceptualized to provoke a critique of criminology and law-making as devices and political tools. It offers the public and educators a powerful example of the potential of public art to be activism.

A unique collaboration of classic photography, golden era sign painting and photorealistic murals, this painting pushes the boundaries of time by injecting life into a visual snapshot of a moment sixty years ago. As a mural, this painting faces connoisseurs of classical fine art painting more than the world of pop culture, contemporary street art or capitalist and commercial sign painting. The anecdote to what makes this exceptional is that this massive image does not contain words, it is brandless and it allows the viewer to deduce for themselves how it will make them feel as a representational painting.

The highest quality outdoor materials used in the commercial mural and sign industries will be employed while professionally installing suspended scaffolding stages to bring this project to fruition. Experienced in commercial signs and hyper-realistic murals, this team is prepared to paint one of the most memorable commuter experience murals in the country.

The project’s lead artist, Darius Dennis is from Chicago and still lives near Uptown. Darius also attended Truman College which is 2 blocks away from the mural. Danny Lyon attended the University of Chicago in the 1960s where he began his photography career. Some of Mr. Lyon’s first notable photos were taken in Uptown. Uptown is a diverse neighborhood with a strong history of community organizing. I AM HERE demands a reckoning with U.S. history that remains painfully relevant today and marks a starting point for continued discussion and crucial education.

This initiative has identified generous fiscal sponsorship through the nonprofit Louisville Visual Art which makes PayPal receipts available through this fundraiser that will help our donors at tax time.

The intent is to make this painting the last in the larger initiative titled The I AM Series. This painting will be the 4th and final installment in the series and connects to paintings that currently live in Chicago (I AM A MAN), Louisville, KY (I AM SINGING), Rochester, NY (I AM SPEAKING) and were all completed in 2020.

I AM HERE is the fourth installation of monumental-scale murals depicting figures and images from the Civil Rights Era. The first mural of the I AM series (I AM A MAN) was completed in Wicker Park in 2020. I AM A MAN has been added to a syllabus on public art and activism in Chicago Public School’s classrooms and online training programs. Lyon’s photograph utilized in I AM HERE was recently published in the book Teaching for Black Lives. These murals intend to elevate Black leaders, promote education, and continue centering dialogues around solutions to social and racial justice.

Don’t miss this unique moment in Chicago history and please help us spread information about how anyone can help by sharing the link below.

Thank you for your time, dedication, and encouragement. We look forward to your inquiries, honest responses, and feedback.

Darius Dennis

Lead Painter and Strategist

The “I AM Series"

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facebook.com/mrdariusdennis

instagram.com/72and10

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PARTNERS:

Uptown United-

Uptown United & the Uptown Chamber of Commerce are partner organizations that share a mission to build a strong, unified business environment; facilitate economic development; and strengthen the community—all to nurture a diverse, vibrant, thriving, and strong Uptown. Uptown’s business association since 1923, the Uptown Chamber of Commerce is one of Chicago’s oldest Chambers of Commerce. While our focus is business development and promotion, we also recognize the cultural richness of our community to help make all of Uptown thrive. Uptown United assists local businesses, investors, and community organizations, helping stimulate economic development to strengthen the community’s economic base and address broad issues about the quality of life for Uptown’s diverse population.

Cornerstone Community Outreach-

Cornerstone Community Outreach is a non-profit 501-c3 organization operating one of the largest homeless shelters in Chicago.

Our three main programs, and many smaller programs, are run from our buildings in the Uptown neighborhood on the north side of Chicago. Hanna Shelter serves single mothers with Children, Sylvia Shelter serves intact families of all kinds, and Naomi serves single men and women.

All residents in our programs receive personal case management, referrals, and advocacy from CCO staff and partner agencies. Along with shelter, CCO provides meals to residents, a food bag program, and free donated clothing to our residents.

Louisville Visual Art-

Louisville Visual Art has been improving lives through visual art education, programming and events since 1909.

As a creative hub now established in the Portland neighborhood, LVA is dedicated to encouraging artists through programming such as Children’s Fine Art Classes, MAP, Artebella, Open Studio Louisville, outreach programs and weekly calls for artists.

LVA is shaping the next generation of creative leaders by providing quality instruction to 1,000+ students annually through Children's Fine Art Classes and outreach programs in schools and community centers. LVA aims to engage, inspire, and improve our region through art.

Danny Lyon-

https://www.moma.org/artists/3650

https://www.magnumphotos.com/theory-and-practice/danny-lyon-life-dissent/

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/27/arts/design/danny-lyon-sncc-photography.html

Darius Dennis-

I AM SERIES

https://blockclubchicago.org/2020/07/15/new-wicker-park-i-am-a-man-mural-honors-iconic-moment-in-black-history/

https://chicago.suntimes.com/murals-mosaics/2020/8/7/21340321/chicago-murals-black-lives-matter-darius-dennis-dred-ske-wicker-park-leons-bar-b-q-sounding-boards

https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2020/11/12/john-lewis-mural-downtown-rochester-ny-ephraim-gebre-i-am-mural-series/6259835002/

For more information about the Louisville Visual Art and Cornerstone Community Outreach, please visit their respective websites at www.louisvillevisualart.org and www.ccolife.org

(Transaction fees, including credit and debit charges, are deducted from each donation)

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Thank you.

Darius Dennis

Painter, Lead Strategist

@72and10