Art Walk in Pilsen Neighborhood

A few weeks ago my aunt Susie called me to arrange a bi-monthly meetup.  Usually we surf over to yelp or metromix and search for a  tasty ethnic b.y.o.b like Chilam Balam (one of my favs. Isn’t it fun to say?) or Opart Thai House on Western (closest I’ve found to the real thing). The Pilsen Art walk happened to fall during this particular week so we decided to head south to check out the local art scene and enjoy the local Mexican fare at DeCOLORES galeria y sabores.

My friend Serina joined us for the evening.  Around six we she and I headed toward Susie’s direction, stopping for a quick minute to snap a photograph of the bike below. We each admitted to checking out the beaut on earlier walks past.  I’m a sucker for the retro style and color! I can’t wait to get my own!

After a short pit stop at Susie’s beautiful Ukranian Village apartment to meet Paris, her new darling kitten, we hopped in her Volkswagen GTI (my grandpa introduced her to the German company with her first starter car, the beetle) and drove south on Halsted.

Our first stop was an interactive exhibit where visitors were encouraged to try out the “art.” These guys produced enough energy from peddling to power the lights attached to their helmets and illuminate the room. They were pretty stoked, if you can’t tell 🙂

View from Brian Mancl’s gallery.  This was my favorite collection of work.  His photographs were simple, abstract,  and beautifully executed.

Another view from one of the galleries. It’s a very traditional city scene to me. This could be nearly any city in the World.

On the walk back North to Decolores, Susie said there was something she had to show Serina and me.  Each corner she’d have us wait for a minute while she jogged halfway down the block to see if it held the secret treasure.  This alley is not what she wanted us to see, but I thought I’d take a picture of it any way.  On the third or fourth block Susie found it–a flourishing communal garden, kept by the local artist surrounding the plot.  At this point,  it was too dark for a photo that would do it justice, but I’ll certainly be back soon and take one then.