LOOK, BUT DO SO WITH LOVE: Truck Art Meets Little Free Library : Activating Public Space for Preadolescents on Devon Avenue Theme: As part of border-crossing and placemaking, transcultural cities in America require inserting culturally specific objects in the urban landscape. These objects serve as mnemonic devices that support re-establishing a sense of home and belonging for migrant communities. Truck Art Meets Little Free Library is a social experiment on Chicago's Devon Avenue, a diverse community of South Asian immigrants and refugees, who often shelter their children due to their natural fear of the "other." A book exchange box in the form of a traditional Pakistani truck that exhibits the art form called truck art will activate public space on Devon to encourage children to interact with a familiar cultural object in a way that is educative and receptive to create a sense of belonging. Informed by a study conducted by Mauro Giardiello, in which he claims that the lack of interaction for preadolescents with the public sphere, oftentimes caused by commercialization, leads to a delayed start of the educative process. This delay eventually hinders development into adulthood and ultimately negates the citizenship role of an individual. The library box will attract children through books and art to foster interaction and conversation between the diverse populations of Devon. As an educative tool that supports ownership of cultural identity and promotes community, this project is important to implement to stimulate engagement and provide security for preadolescents with their cultural surroundings within their adopted country. Developing this dual-identity as they move into adulthood gives self-agency to become engaged citizens in the wider scope of American society |
