Don’t know what to do with that bread recipe you tried out during COVID-19 quarantine? Maybe you have a life-sized poster of a Mayor Lori Lightfoot meme that doesn’t seem relevant anymore? There’s a home for all of it.
Museums in and around Chicago are taking memorabilia from the coronavirus era as living exhibits. You can send in photos of your kids on Zoom, your quarantine beard (rivals the 2013 Stanley Cup playoff beard, right?) or anything else that describes life during the Stay-At-Home orders.
Chicago History Museum
The Chicago History Museum is capturing life in the era of coronavirus with an “In This Together” initiative. Submit your experiences online or fill out the curation form to submit physical artifacts. Experiences include sewing masks, journal entries, emails, recordings, art, family portraits and more. You can view a timeline of the “In This Together” project or search entries geographically.
Naper Settlement
Naperville’s historical museum is documenting life in the town at this moment in time. The settlement is looking for images, short videos, signs from car parades or art made to thank frontline workers, journals and more. Residents with artifacts to donate can fill out a form and upload their submission online.
Elmhurst Art Museum
Send a 4×6 postcard to the Elmhurst Art Museum with art or stories of your time inside for its “Art in the Post” exhibit. The museum is encouraging families to be creative, legible and brief in their postcard submissions. From bread recipes to hand-drawn art of your sixth-grader’s Zoom meetings, feel free to let your creativity shine in postcard-sized fashion, then follow these directions for submissions.
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This article also appeared in Chicago Parent’s July 2020 magazine. Read the rest of the issue here.
