Close Encounters

Close Encounters (2008-2010) was a multiyear social engagement project linking artists, communities and organisations from the City of Chicago and Aotearoa New Zealand. The project’s aim was to explore the responsibilities that artists have to community and how this relationship can contribute to a sense of place. Following a process-led approach, Close Encounters was initiated by a traditional Māori gathering and a Native American Powwow followed by an extensive field trip across Chicago visiting a range community groups. The project culminated in artist residencies, community events and a series of nine artwork commissions. The curatorial approach of Close Encounters posed significant challenges to conventional institutional practices by brokering community relationships, supporting artists to develop their projects on their own timeframe, and developing curatorial frameworks and artworks in tandem.

Co-curated by Bruce E. Phillips and Chuck Thurow in collaboration with Hyde Park Art Centre, The Field Museum and the American Indian Centre in Chicago and the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Funded by Boeing, Illinois Arts Council and Creative New Zealand.

Social Engagement

Social engagement was embedded in Close Encounters from concept to delivery. This process was initiated by a traditional hui (meeting) facilitated by Māori elders and taking place in their ancestral meeting house Ruatepupuke II on display at the Field Museum in Chicago. Following Māori protocol, everyone who participated in the hui were valued equally for their contribution and had an opportunity to speak. The hui was followed by a Powwow conducted by tribal leaders from the local Native American centre.

In addition, the project group visited twelve other communities around Chicago. The group was split into two seperate tours one heading north and the other south that visited ten large and small community groups and organisations. Ranging from non-traditional urban groups such as the skateboard and parkour communities to non-profit organisations that provide crucial social welfare services. These ranged from a Cambodian refugee centre to a LGBTQ+ community centre and from a community built skateboard park to a beekeeping charity that helps integrate ex-felons into the workforce. When the groups returned that evening the north group was buzzing with utopian aspirations. In contrast, the south group returned depressed, as their whole day had involved driving through some of Chicago’s deprived areas. It is precisely these positive and negative community encounters that proved vital in inspiring each artist’s work and helping them and their collaborators to expand conventional notions of community.

Residencies and Commissions