EDGEWATER — Four Red Line stations being rebuilt on the Far North Side will be accompanied by artwork from local artists.
CTA has commissioned five artists to create mosaic murals and glass installations for the new Lawrence, Argyle, Berwyn and Bryn Mawr stations that are in the early stages of construction. The stations — which will be fully accessible with elevators, escalators and wider platforms — are expected to open in late 2025, according to a news release.
The work is part of the CTA’s $2.1 billion rebuild of parts of the Red and Purple lines. The project includes entirely rebuilt rail and station infrastructure from Lawrence to Bryn Mawr. The work began in 2021 and is set to wrap in 2025.
As part of the project, CTA in 2022 put out a call for artists to pitch artwork for the rebuilt stations. It announced the selected artists on Monday and detailed the art pieces that will accompany the stations.
The commissioned pieces coming to the Red Line include:
- Argyle station: “Argyle-O-Rama,” sheet metal with baked ceramic surface, by Mayumi Lake of Chicago
- Berwyn station: “Edgewater Mélange,” two mosaics framed by cast ceramic elements, by David Lozano of Chicago
- Bryn Mawr station: “Today,” architectural glass installation for elevator and mosaic for station wall, by William Conger of Chicago
- Bryn Mawr Station: “Avian Listening,” “Lake Calls,” “Prairie Calls,” “Nocturnal Night Calls,” covering the Hollywood auxiliary entrance, by Alice Hargrave of Chicago
- Lawrence station: “The Theater of Life,” glass mosaic for station wall, and “The Ties That Bind,” glass installation for elevator, by Tom Torluemke of Dyer, Indiana
The art is coming to stations that were designed to include spaces for public art. CTA announced the four station designs in 2021, with their architecture and planned artwork meant to reflect the surrounding neighborhood.
Marly Schott, manager for Elevated Chicago, a group focused on transit-oriented development, credited CTA for investing in public art as more riders return to the system.
“Beautifying a station can help make it a hub for community, make people feel more welcome on transit and improve the perceptions of safety,” Schott said. “Making stations a part of its wider community is important, and arts and culture can play a role in that.”
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