Transformational, Inspired, Scalable
Led by the charismatic and inspiring pastor, Rev. Dr. Marshall Elijah Hatch, NMP is an anchor institution in the West Garfield neighbourhood. The scope of services Bureau Gemmell has been providing the church since 2015 has ranged from a bathroom renovation; graphic design; research; art show design and coordination; event planning; master planning; re-finance application administration; site design; strategic planning; and conceptual design. The range of services and the length of relationship is indicative of Bureau Gemmell's flexibility and responsiveness. Highlighted projects include the MAC community arts centre and the Sankofa Peace window.
MAC – MAAFA Arts Center
This stimulating project involves a grand project to convert an existing abandoned Episcopal Church into a community arts center. Turning this empty building into a vibrant, self-sustaining social enterprise encapsulates the work Bureau Gemmell was founded to execute. A robust economic and real estate analysis coupled with a dynamic community engagement process will be completed prior to the design process moving beyond the basic visioning. The center is already hosting pop up photography shows, dance performances, poetry recitals and concerts. The building is a skills development lab for the men of the MAAFA Redemption Project. The project touches on all the reason Lynsey loves the practice of Architecture. The building has such potential, the proportions, acoustics and feel of the sanctuary are exquisite but it is dormant and in need of attention. The technical challenges of stabilizing the masonry, creating accessibility, adding an efficient and sustainable heating and cooling system, and crafting an addition will be satisfying. Equally, the mission of the MAC to bring the Arts, early-childhood development, a coffee shop, a recording studio, and a safe and rousing space for the community is so fundamental to the community self-worth and continuity.
Sankofa Peace Window
The window completes the trilogy of windows within the sanctuary. The first window was installed in 1993; the north-facing rose window is an homage to the Great Migration, when many African-Americans came to Chicago from the rural South. The second was installed in 2000; the eastern window became a portrayal of the slave trade with a ship, personified as Christ rising above the Atlantic, his shackled arms outstretched. The congregation calls it the MAAFA Remembrance, a Swahili term meaning "unspeakable horror." The artwork is by the famed African-American artist and illustrator, Tom Feelings from his Middle Passage series. The last window project was launched in 2017 as a youth-based project working to transform the neighborhood through art. The final designs were developed and refined by stain glass artisans Botti Studio of Architectural Arts Inc. and was installed in February 2019.
The west window has been dubbed the Sankofa Peace window. Sankofa is an African word from the Ashanti people in Ghana. Translated literally it means "it is not wrong to fetch what is at risk of being left behind". The bird has its head turned backwards whilst its feet face forward carrying a precious egg in its mouth. The icon of the bird has been adopted as an important symbol in the African-American and African Diaspora context. The twenty-five foot diameter fabulous and profound art is a call to action. The likenesses of the four girls who died in the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama (Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson, Carol Denise McNair) occupy the top of the window. At the bottom are public picture likenesses of contemporary violence victims, Derion Albert, Hadiya Pendleton, Blair Holt, Demetrius Griffin III, and LaQuan McDonald. Their stories represent the suffering that the community bears when an innocent life is taken. The center of the window illustrates Jesus Christ leading children back to an African Village Estate of the Heavenly Father at sunset as a sign of hope and salvation. The Sankofa bird resides in the top, signifying that the way forward is found in remembering the past and reclaiming the values of faith, love, and child-centered community.
PRESS:
https://wbbm780.radio.com/stained-glass-sankofa-peace-window-west-side-church
https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2019/02/14/chicago-peace-window-sankofa-violence-shootings-church/
