Addison Public Library welcomed local artist Antonia Ruppert as our first Artist in Residence during November and December of 2022. During the two month residency, Antonia hosted creative workshops that focused on the home of our memories and imaginations. Come take a look at our finished community art projects!
About the Artist:
Antonia Ruppert is an artist from Chicago. She has spent the last 7 years creating community art projects for organizations in the Chicagoland area. Her work includes collaborative murals and portraits about relationships, drawing from observing people, hearing stories, building relationships and personal experiences. Each work of art has joy and purpose and Antonia invites the viewer to join in on the creation rather than stand outside of the process. Antonia regularly participates in art shows, live-painting sessions, community events and painting workshops.
Community Mural
Addison has been home to many people of vast cultures. We celebrated this by making a community mural with a million dots! Antonia met with the community during Community Mural sessions to get feedback and inspiration for our mural. Using that feedback, she drew a mural that included key community features and characteristics mentioned during those sessions. Antonia then guided dozens of community members in painting the canvas together. The Community Mural will be permanently installed in Addison Public Library in early 2023. The location is to-be-determined.
Make Your Own Home
Everybody deserves a home in their community. During Make Your Own Home sessions, community members created and decorated miniature paper mache homes for our "Tiny Village" display. Patrons got to take their house home when the residency ended.
Faces of Addison
A dozen Addison community members got to share their story with Antonia and other local artists as they illustrated a unique portrait of the resident. These portraits were created by local artists through Antonia's guidance and mentorship. Listen below to hear the stories of the residents:
Annette
Addison resident for 55 years.
Portrait by Lisa Lucaccioni.
Donnisha
Addison resident for 5 years.
Portrait by Rafael Garrigos.
Froilan
Addison resident for 25 years.
Portrait by Julie Mars.
Espanol
Irma
Addison resident for 24 years.
Portrait by Anne Gilot.
English
Espanol
Judy
Resident for 57 years.
Portrait by Antonia Ruppert.
Khadijah and Yusra
Addison residents for 5 years.
Portrait by Margaret Bucholtz.
Maria
Addison resident for 29 years.
Portrait by Margaret Bucholtz
English
Espanol
Nancy
Addison resident for 5 years.
Portrait by Lisa Lucaccioni.
Rosie
Addison resident for 17 years.
Portrait by Aishah Chaudhry.
Ruju
Addison resident for 10 years.
Portrait by Makayla Gomez.
Sawat
Addison resident for 43 years.
Portrait by Antonia Ruppert.
Sharmi
Addison resident for 50 years.
Portrait by Donnisha Banks.