An Anatomy in Photographs: Millennium Park Debuts Exhibition Celebrating 10th Anniversary

By Marielle Shaw in Arts & Entertainment on Jun 14, 2014 4:00PM

Photo credit: Ken Tanaka, courtesy DCASE

We’re hurtling headlong into a weekend full of absolutely beautiful weather. That sort of thing can’t be taken for granted in a region like ours, where we can have 9 months of bitter cold winter or two week long unbearable blazing infernos. It’s time to take advantage of these opportunities and get outside. We’re always game for wandering the halls of the Art Institute or the MCA, but as the weather turns more temperate, art outside has a greater appeal.

Millennium Park, home to many a musical event, movie and bean-gazer, is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year with the Millennium Park 10th Anniversary Summer Celebration. This involves dozens of different events, from art and exhibitions to music, workouts and movies. All the events are free for anyone to enjoy.

One of these exhibitions will feature the park itself. It’s called Millennium Park: An Anatomy in Photographs. Sponsored by Boeing (and being shown in the North Boeing Gallery, natch), this tells the story of the park from ideation to current state, and the outdoor exhibition features the works of 16 different photographers, some who were tasked with tracking the park’s progress, and some who were simply inspired by an afternoon on its lawn. 58 large form works will be featured, and include views of Millenium no longer obtainable. Exhibition hours mirror those of the park itself, so you can peruse the photos and wiggle your toes in the grass from 6 am to 11 pm until the exhibition closes in October of 2015.

While Millennium Park may not be a secluded, pastoral hideaway from the surrounding city (which does in fact boast some…) its 24.5 acres have served us well over the years, for picnics, films and shows of all sizes and varieties. It offers prairie garden boardwalks, a skyline-bending Cloud Gate, and a spacious front lawn to enjoy wine, picnics and music on. That’s worth celebrating, and as we launch into the park’s 10th year, we relish the retrospective this photographic art installation will bring us.