Chicago's Cook County treasurer hosts "Chicago Tapestry" exhibit

CHICAGO - "Chicago Tapestry" is the name of the exhibit that took place at the Office of the Cook County Treasurer on July 5-31.

The title serves as a metaphor for Chicago's rich cultural and ethnic diversity. Chicago has many different communities which are woven together like a tapestry. The many threads of this tapestry have their own independent color but, when joined together, they create a fascinating whole.

In recognition of this, the Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas has routinely presented paintings and other artistic work in her office "to beautify what otherwise would be just a government office" for the sake of visitors and employees, and to support the artistic community of Cook County.

This exhibit was significant in that it was the first time that textile art was exhibited in this space, thanks to the recommendations of Lida Truchly, member of the Chicago/Kyiv Sister Cities Committee, and Pat Michalski, the treasurer's special advisor on ethnic affairs and media.

Three artists were featured in this exhibit: David Johnson, of Swedish descent, presented works which were notable for their depth created by mixed media. Lialia Kuchma, who was born in Ukraine, showed works which pulsated with energy and vivid colors. (She recently had a solo exhibit at the Chicago Cultural Center). Anne McGinn, of Irish extraction, showed her miniature pieces with irregular contours.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony took place on July 13, with each artist cutting a ribbon the color of his or her native flag. Vice Consul General of Ireland Una Nidhubhgaaill and Honorary Consul General of Sweden Annette Seaberg welcomed the artists.

Ms. Pappas thanked the consuls and the visitors for coming to this event. "This is an important endeavor for this office. The reason is that we get more traffic than anyone. This is a county with 5.5 million people with 127 languages. And within 127 languages there is a tremendous wealth of artistic talent. And to that end we are grateful that you took the time to come and display this beautiful artwork here."

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, August 14, 2005, No. 33, Vol. LXXIII

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