I would like to facilitate a bird house decorating event in the green space alongside a small community garden at the corner of 24th Boulevard and California Avenue in Little Village, maintained by the Telpochcalli School and the Maria Saucedo Academy. This green space on the corner of the boulevard was a community meeting ground during the warm months of the pandemic for families who are a part of the Telpochcalli Community Education Project. This area has provided space for distanced outdoor gatherings where families can connect and learn about resources. During these weekly gatherings, volunteers helped families fill out the Census with laptops, provided grocery delivery boxes, and facilitated art projects.

Winter is passing, and I would like to encourage community members to start safely gathering in this space again to connect.

During the Casitas para Pajaritos event, families will be able to paint a cedar wood bird house, then choose to hang the bird house in the community garden, in the trees along the boulevard, or take their Bird Houses home.

This event will be the foundation of a new season of a gathering in this space for community members, while providing new homes for birds that surround the area. I will reach out to other organizations in the community like local churches, preschools, and hospitals to ask if they would be willing to set up a table along the boulevard to share their resources with the community during this event. I would like to bring back and grow those corner gatherings that TCEP so powerfully started facilitating for their community members and families.

** This project has been funded through funds honoring the memory of Mark Rogovin, a celebrated and beloved muralist in Chicago. These funds are specifically marked to support projects that benefit public art in the Chicago area.