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Marisa Morán Jahn and Rafi Segal, HOOPcycle and OOPS, 2024, view of installation in progress at the National Public Housing Museum. Photo by Merawi Gerima.
Parking lot of the National Public Housing Museum, 919 South Ada Street
Lace up your sneakers and join us for a preview of the mobile interactive art installation HOOPcycle at the National Public Housing Museum!
Drop by, meet past Artist as Instigator Marisa Morán Jahn, and play around with this mobile art installation and OOPS, a geometric ground mural that celebrates street games and their role in bringing people together.
Conceptualized by artist Marisa Morán Jahn and architect Rafi Segal, HOOPcycle explores the intersections of recreational equity, cultural heritage, and public space. Drawing inspiration from both contemporary basketball and its ancient pre-Columbian ancestor, HOOPcycle combines a reinterpreted vertical hoop with a tricycle-mounted design, offering a reimagined sports experience that challenges norms and unites communities through play.
Major funding for HOOPcycle and OOPS was provided by The Joyce Foundation as part of the 2023 Joyce Award, with support from The National Endowment for the Arts, Parsons/The New School Faculty Research Fund and the Chicago Association of REALTORS®.
From baseball to boxing to basketball, sports have a long history in public housing. Like kids from anywhere, kids growing up in public housing made fun however they could. The excitement of being a part of a team cultivates a sense of community. Public housing sports leagues have provided a sense of safety and comfort in their spaces. Learn more!
Marisa Morán Jahn, the National Public Housing Museum’s Artist as Instigator, is creating a multi-hued wall covering for the new building that draws inspiration from historic imagery of public housing playgrounds.
Some of the earliest public housing developments were designed with the intention of creating a better quality of life for their residents, including ample space for recreational activities and events. In this article, we will take a nostalgic trip down memory lane and explore some examples of the fun and joy that could be found in early public housing communities.
