Illustrations by Antonio Giovanni Pinna
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Illustrations by Antonio Giovanni Pinna
1 Pothole Mosaic
Street artist Jim Bachor fills potholes all over Chicago with colorful mosaic depictions of sweets, celebrities, and iconic art — miniature surprises that kids can search for throughout the city. His take on Gustave Caillebotte’s Paris Street; Rainy Day is on the 4700 block of North Knox Avenue in Mayfair.
2 Self-Portrait
The 30-foot-tall sculpture by Keith Haring that anchors the AIDS Garden Chicago, south of Belmont Harbor, encourages kids to strike their own wiggly pose against the lakefront backdrop.
3 Oz Park Sculptures
John Kearney’s bronze and chrome depictions of Dorothy and crew turn this Lincoln Park park into an open-air storybook. Sadly for kids raised on Wicked, there’s no statue of Elphaba.
4 Snow Sculpture for Chicago
Tony Tasset’s faux snow pile — tucked into the last remaining display window of the former Goldblatt’s department store at 1613 West Chicago Avenue — hides “debris” like coffee cups and matchbooks, making the piece a visual scavenger hunt for buried treasures.
5 Gentlemen
Kids can slip into the scene of Ju Ming’s 11 bronze businessmen frozen mid-stride at AMA Plaza to pretend they’ve joined the morning rush.
6 Bronze Cow
Outside the Chicago Cultural Center on Washington Street, the city’s favorite bovine, by artist Nathan Mason, provides a cute photo op — and the ideal prompt to regale kids with one of the city’s most famous (and fiery) urban legends.
7 Agora
At the south end of Grant Park, Magdalena Abakanowicz’s 106 towering, headless figures create a maze-like forest of friendly giants perfect for running through and hiding in.
8 America’s Courtyard
Ary Perez and Denise Milan’s sculpture, made of granite and marble blocks and perched on the lawn south of the Adler Planetarium, is ideal for a game of leapfrog.
9 Skylanding
Yoko Ono’s giant steel petals on Jackson Park’s Wooded Island make the area into an outdoor maze.