09/10/2025
Unscripted Play - our contribution to Common Chicago, an exhibition by for the sixth edition of the . Currently on view at MAS Context Reading Room.
Playlots, embedded throughout Chicago’s neighborhoods, are designated plots of land allocated for urban recreation. From vacant lots on residential streets to schoolyards to park grounds, playlots mark prescribed points of physical and social contact within our communities. At the turn of the century, playlots emerged as an act of reformation, resulting in a scripted form of public recreation that was supervised and contained. Traces of these reform-era origins are still evident today. Growing regulations around the design, access, and upkeep of urban playspaces and equipment for play leave little room to the imagination. Commonplace structures of prescribed use - slides, swings, and monkey bars - make serial appearances throughout the city. How can we reclaim play as a vital expression of creativity, autonomy, and civic engagement that permeates our city rather than a rehearsed act only to be enacted on certain stages?
This play kit features a collection of scaleless, siteless figures for curious encounters, creative occupation, and impractical amusements. Let’s reimagine how we play!
Thank you for the invitation!
