In partnership with the Milwaukee Avenue Alliance, EXTRA Projects presents Artificial Outlook, a series of storefront installations created by artist Katelyn Patton and Dr. Beth Reinke, Assistant Professor of Biology at Northeastern Illinois University, curated by EXTRA co-founder Chris Grieshaber. As part of EXTRA’s shift to hybrid and digital programming in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, EXTRA has worked with interested neighbors along the Milwaukee commercial corridor north of Kimball and Diversey to provide space for Patton and Dr. Reinke’s explorations, where the public can enjoy art in a safe and engaging manner.

The collaborators have invented made-up storefronts theorizing what businesses might exist in the future, which explore the potential effects of man-made environmental decisions, and the resulting man-made interventions that may be necessary to counterbalance those decisions. The imagined flora and fauna on display are examples of their explorations of the term “Artificial Species Replacement”, which they have coined to explain not only ecological remedies actively in development by the scientific community, but also speculations of what those might be in a few decades’ time.

Through this exhibition, Patton and Dr. Reinke hope to open a dialogue about the future of our planet to consider how the climate of our world is changing, the essential role humanity plays in it, and what to do when we cannot seem to move past the debates about the causes. They also aim to provide a sense of hope for our society to use our creativity and resilience to improve itself and the world, even as we collectively stare down an inevitable future of change.

This project is partially supported by an Individual Artist Program Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events, as well as a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency, a state agency through federal funds provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.