Hyde Park Art Center announces free public programing for
William Estrada’s first solo exhibition MULTIPLES AND MULTITUDES
Summer Center Day features art-making activities and performances
Partner program with National Museum of Mexican Art explores legacy of Mexican-American artists in Chicago
CHICAGO (June 16, 2023)— Hyde Park Art Center, the renowned non-profit hub for contemporary art located on Chicago’s vibrant South Side, announces Multiples and Multitudes, the first solo exhibition of Chicago-based Mexican American artist and educator William Estrada whose socially engaged practice has been rooted in Chicago neighborhoods for the last twenty years. Programs presented in tandem with the exhibition will reflect Estrada’s dedication to collaborating with youth, community members, teachers, and artists to reimagine public and educational spaces to unite people and amplify local voices, creating space for others to express themselves artistically and politically. William Estrada: Multiples and Multitudes will be on view at the Hyde Park Art Center from July 22 to October 29, 2023.
The title of the exhibition, Multiples and Multitudes, emphasizes the values of accessibility and collectivity that are ingrained in Estrada’s work. Works in print, photography, performance, and video, developed during the artist’s 2021 residency at the Art Center, will be presented to highlight Estrada’s unwavering commitment to political activism through art.
Multiples and Multitudes will reprise Estrada’s various public projects from the past, such as RADICAL Printshop, a pop-up print shop that takes residence in communal spaces; Mobile Street Art Cart, a printing studio on wheels designed to offer art workshops anywhere; and Arte with Maestro William, a bilingual YouTube channel where Estrada teaches art lessons for families to follow from home. Educational materials describing Estrada’s process and practice, including an introductory video, brochure, and labels, will be presented in both English and Spanish.
Free public programming, all led by the artist himself, is as follows:
Summer Center Day
Saturday, July 22, 1-4 p.m.
Center Day is a recurring program that marks the opening of new exhibitions with free talks and experiences that connect artists, audiences, and communities. For summer Center Day, the Art Center celebrates two bilingual exhibitions William Estrada: Multiples and Multitudes and Edra Soto: Destination/El Destino: A Decade of GRAFT with artmaking activities, workshops, and BOMBA!, a lively Puerto Rican musical performance.
Building Legacies in Public and in PracticeIn partnership with National Museum of Mexican Art
Thursday, October 5, 6-8 p.m.
Estrada will be joined by Cesareo Moreno, Chief Curator of the National Museum of Mexican Art (NMMA), for a conversation that explores parallels between the practices of Estrada and the late artist and activist Carlos Cortez. The conversation will highlight the influence of Cortez onto generations of Mexican-American artists in Chicago and focus on shared values and methodologies present in the two artists’ practices that intend to uplift community voices. This program is a collaboration between Hyde Park Art Center and the NMMA on the occasion of the exhibition William Estrada: Multiples and Multitudes and the centennial commemoration of Carlos Cortéz’s legacy.
Mobile Street Art Cart Workshop Saturday, October 14, 1-4 p.m.
Estrada will activate his participatory Mobile Street Art Cart on display in the exhibition. This print-based drop-in workshop will touch on printmaking as a tool for political activism and education, and highlight local voices and issues faced by communities across Chicago. The Mobile Street Art Cart amplifies the creativity that already exists in the communities by addressing relevant social issues through art-making in the streets.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
William Estrada is an arts educator and multidisciplinary artist. His art and teaching are a collaborative discourse that critically re-examines public and private spaces with people to engage in radical imagination. He has presented in various panels regarding community programming, arts integration, and social justice curricula. He is currently a faculty member at the UIC School of Art and Art History and a teaching artist at Telpochcalli Elementary School. William is engaging in collaborative work with the Mobilize Creative Collaborative, Chicago ACT Collective, and Justseeds Artists’ Cooperative. His current research is focused on developing community based and culturally relevant projects that center power structures of race, economy, and cultural access in contested spaces that provide a space to collectively imagine just futures.
ABOUT HYDE PARK ART CENTER
Hyde Park Art Center, at 5020 South Cornell Avenue on Chicago’s vibrant South Side, is a hub for contemporary arts in Chicago, serving as a gathering, production, and exhibition space for artists and the broader community to cultivate ideas, impact social change, and connect with new networks. Since its inception in 1939, Hyde Park Art Center has grown from a small collective of artists to establishing a strong legacy of risk-taking and experimentation, emerging as a unique Chicago arts institution with social impact. Today, the Art Center offers a diverse suite of programs for artists and art lovers of all backgrounds, ages, and stages in their careers including: contemporary art exhibitions in six galleries; open-access community-based school with 1,500 annual enrollments; weekly arts education to 1,000 elementary school students in public schools; weekly and summer teen programs for 100 teen artists; professional-advancement programs for artists; a local and international artist residency; and public programs that connects residents with Chicago art and artists .The Art Center functions as an amplifier for creative voices of today and tomorrow, providing the space to cultivate new work and connections. For more information, please visit www.hydeparkart.org.
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