The Loop District in Chicago in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Kin Link, 2023

Leonard Suryajaya

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, September 10, 2024

1. Kin Link, 2023 Marker

Inscription.

Kin Link, 2023. Leonard Suryajaya. Kin Link is the fourth artist project in this series of temporary mural banners for the Riverwalk. The artists and artworks in this series show the strength and diversity of Chicago, a city whose vitality comes from the variety of peoples and cultural traditions who make this place home. , , Artist statement: , In this selection, I offer a vision of an immigrant's experience to the city through a queer lens that offers and creates space for differing patterns and identities to exist in cohesion. It considers the overlapping of family with kinship, and the knotty relationship between home and diaspora spanning from Indonesia to the United States. Enlisting my family in Indonesia and my community in Chicago in large-format photographs, the work seeks to both open our understanding and acknowledge the conflicts surrounding our comprehension of home, family, and kinship. , , Artist biography: , Leonard Suryajaya (Chicago, IL) uses his work to test the boundaries of intimacy, community, and family. He uses photography, video, performance, and installation to show how the everyday is layered with histories, meanings and potential. Suryajaya has a BA and BFA, 2013, California State University, Fullerton, and a MFA, 2015, School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He has exhibited and received fellowships nationally and internationally. For more information visit the artist's website: https://www.leonardsuryajaya.com/bio , , Banner descriptions, from Michigan Avenue going east: , Banner 1: The artist's cousins posing to embrace a new generation in the family. , Banner 2: A telescope is camouflaged in gold pattern next to a window enforced with bars. The gold paper is used in ceremonies and prayers as a form of currency in the afterlife. , Banner 3: People waiting for fireworks along the Lakefront on 4th of July , Banner 4: Shelves covered with smiles of artist's friends and art community in Chicago. On the shelves are cans the artist accumulated in Covid-19 quarantine. They are hand wrapped with patterns created using photos of his friends. , Banner 5: Artist's mother and sister in the middle surrounded by Northwestern University diverse student body group adorned with flowers.

Kin Link is the fourth artist project in this series of temporary mural banners for the Riverwalk. The artists and artworks in this series show the strength and diversity of Chicago, a city whose vitality comes from the variety of peoples and cultural traditions who make this place home.

Artist statement:
In this selection, I offer a vision of an immigrant's experience to the city through a queer lens that offers and creates space for differing patterns and identities to exist in cohesion. It considers the overlapping of family with kinship, and the knotty relationship between home and diaspora spanning from Indonesia to the United States. Enlisting my family in Indonesia and my community in Chicago in large-format photographs, the work seeks to both open our understanding and acknowledge the conflicts surrounding our comprehension of home, family, and kinship.

Artist biography:
Leonard Suryajaya (Chicago, IL) uses his work to test the boundaries of intimacy, community, and family. He uses photography, video, performance, and installation to show how the everyday is layered with histories, meanings and potential. Suryajaya has a BA and BFA, 2013, California State University, Fullerton, and a MFA, 2015, School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He has exhibited and received fellowships

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nationally and internationally. For more information visit the artist's website: https://www.leonardsuryajaya.com/bio

Banner descriptions, from Michigan Avenue going east:
Banner 1: The artist's cousins posing to embrace a new generation in the family.
Banner 2: A telescope is camouflaged in gold pattern next to a window enforced with bars. The gold paper is used in ceremonies and prayers as a form of currency in the afterlife.
Banner 3: People waiting for fireworks along the Lakefront on 4th of July
Banner 4: Shelves covered with smiles of artist's friends and art community in Chicago. On the shelves are cans the artist accumulated in Covid-19 quarantine. They are hand wrapped with patterns created using photos of his friends.
Banner 5: Artist's mother and sister in the middle surrounded by Northwestern University diverse student body group adorned with flowers.

Erected by Chicago Riverwalk; City of Chicago.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Asian Americans • Immigration • Religion & Religious Structures. A significant historical year for this entry is 2023.

Location. 41° 53.301′ N, 87° 37.441′ W. Marker is in Chicago, Illinois, in Cook County. It is in The Loop District. It can

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, September 10, 2024

2. Kin Link, 2023 Marker

be reached from Chicago Riverwalk east of Michigan Avenue. The marker is on the Chicago Riverwalk, in front of the westernmost of the five murals. It is to the right of the Architecture Tours kiosk and a short walk from the stairway up to the Michigan Avenue. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 22 E Wacker Dr, Chicago IL 60601, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the American Midwest

and on the Great Lakes.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Chicago's Movable Bridges (a few steps from this marker); Chicago River Wildlife (a few steps from this marker); Regeneration (a few steps from this marker); The Bridges of Chicago (within shouting distance of this marker); a different marker also named Kin Link, 2023 (within shouting distance of this marker); Rene Robert Cavalier Sieur de La Salle (within shouting distance of this marker); Chicago River (within shouting distance of this marker); 333 North Michigan Building (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Chicago.

More about this marker. An identical marker can be found in front of the easternmost mural, about 200 feet away.

Also see . . . Leonard Suryajaya official site. (Submitted on September 11, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

Additional keywords. LGBT,

Kin Link, easternmost panel image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, September 10, 2024

3. Kin Link, easternmost panel

An identical marker to the one in this listing sits beneath this panel.

LGBTQ, 🏳️‍🌈

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, September 10, 2024

4. Kin Link

This photo shows the second, third, fourth and fifth panels in the Kin Link installation. The marker is behind the Architecture Tours kiosk on the right, not far from the Michigan Avenue bridge.

Credits. This page was last revised on November 22, 2024. It was originally submitted on September 11, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 204 times since then and 13 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on September 11, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.