Ten Thousand Ripples (TTR) is a collaborative public art, civic engagement and peace project. It uses art as a catalyst to foster dialogue about peace and non-violence, and create innovative solutions to address contemporary social issues. Through TTR, artists, neighborhood leaders, and residents are at the heart of community-driven planning and public involvement efforts. At the center of TTR are 100 fiberglass and resin Buddha sculptures, each weighed down with a few hundred pounds of concrete, designed by Indira Johnson and installed in sites in 10 Chicago area neighborhoods.
The Project Idea
Ambitious in its breadth, and bold in its objectives, Ten Thousand Ripples (TTR) is rooted in the belief that art is for people, that community art should contribute to daily life, and that the arts have the power to activate civic engagement, ignite creative ambitions, and foster safe forums for residents to talk. These initial beliefs led artists, arts- and community-based organizations, and leaders from across Chicago to envision, support, and advance TTR in their studios, organizations, neighborhoods, and lives. Through this project, community conversations emerged, new partnerships were formed, access to the arts was increased, and a foundation for trust and mutual understanding was cultivated.
TTR is a partnership between artist Indira Johnson and Changing Worlds, an educational arts nonprofit. Guided by a city-wide advisory council, TTR uses an innovative approach that engages entire communities and brings together people from various sectors in pursuit of transformational, sustainable change. TTR is rooted in the beliefs that art is for the people, that community art should contribute to daily life, and that creating safe forums for residents to talk creates a habit of dialogue and a foundation for trust and mutual understanding. When these elements are in place, communities come together and quality of life is raised. TTR aims to leverage public art as a springboard to build responses and solutions to vital social concerns and to improve neighborhoods. Each community brings its distinctive approach to TTR, and community engagement is the key to the project. While communities were different in composition and dynamics, each had vibrant local organizations that embraced this activist art project as a demonstration of their vision and commitment, especially while many faced chronic underfunding and understaffing. The common threads in all neighborhoods included locally based dialogues sessions, artistic programming, the installation of public art and arts infused community development plans.
Background
The idea for TTR was formed over five years ago, when artist Indira Johnson had an exhibit of emerging Buddha sculptures on display at the Chicago Cultural Center. She noticed visitors contemplating the sculptures—many even told her that they felt a sense of peace. For Johnson, who had used the emerging Buddha image for over a decade as a symbol of peace and self-realization, this response resonated. Johnson wondered what reaction the sculptures would provoke if they were located in public spaces, like storefronts or abandoned lots. This thought led to the development of TTR.
In 2010, a leading grant from the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation helped seed the project’s development and launch a planning process to explore how this inspiring sculpture could impact public spaces and communities. The actual production of the heads was funded by start-up money from local foundations, and local communities help fund their installation. While the image of the Buddha is a symbol of peace for Johnson, it is a surprising and sometimes provocative one for others, especially when seen on city streets. The planning process began with Johnson inviting leaders from arts, social service, community, and educational institutions to form an Advisory Council to help shape the TTR project. In addition, Johnson solicited input from residents of each area on where to place the Buddhas, and further encouraged community groups to start discussions around a theme related to peace. In 2011, Changing Worlds partnered with Johnson to serve as the project’s lead agency. Through planning retreats, Changing Worlds and its partners developed goals and objectives for the project, established a framework for community engagement, and adopted a set of desired outcomes and elements across partnering communities. From the onset, a central goal of the initiative was to bring public art to neighborhoods across the city.