Secret Spot: Oakland Museum of Contemporary Art

You won’t see the Oakland Museum of Contemporary Art listed in guidebooks next to the Art Institute or MCA. Yet this small space had a big hand in reviving the North Kenwood/Oakland community.

The free, outdoor museum sits on two lots on East 41st Place near Berkeley Avenue. The landscaped lawns are dotted with abstract wooden sculptures, the work of the late artist Milton Mizenberg Jr. and Chicago secret #90 in my book.

From Tree Stumps to Sculptures

The South Side neighborhood looked quite different in the 1990s. Mizenberg lived across the street from the lots, and he didn’t like the view outside. Tired of the litter, abandoned cars, and loitering gangs, he began improving the neighborhood one artwork at a time. The self-taught sculptor took a chainsaw to tree trunks, filling vacant lots with art. The Oakland Museum of Contemporary Art was born.

When kids asked what he was doing with the chainsaw, Mizenberg replied, per the Tribune, “I’m giving this art to you. And it’s your responsibility to take care of it.” Mizenberg added several more wooden artworks, and the city even supplied poplar, oak, and ash tree stumps. No pieces in the outdoor sculpture garden have ever been defaced.

According to neighbor Lloyd Brodnax King, seeing the sculptures drew him and other creatives to move to the neighborhood. This summer, the musician has hosted outdoor concerts among the sculptures near his home as a way to share and enjoy music in the era of social distancing.

Oakland Museum of Contemporary art in Chicago's Oakland and North Kenwood neighborhood

Restoration

After brightening up his neighborhood with art, Mizenberg spent years battling multiple myeloma. His neighbors kept him inspired by commissioning an artwork. Working through his life-threatening health problems, Mizenberg created his first bronze sculpture.

Mizenberg’s bronze sculpture is located across the street from the museum in Williams-Davis Park. Restoration is dedicated to “the men and women who remained in the Oakland community during difficult times and worked hard to restore its former beauty.”

On My Block I Can

Two decades later, Mizenberg’s work lives on as a reminder of the power of hope, creativity, and community. The gardens are still maintained by neighbors.

Gardens at Chicago's Oakland Museum of Contemporary Art in 2020

“If you want to make a change in anything, you’ve got to do it.”
– Milton Mizenberg Jr.

As he told Chicago Revealed in 2010, “If you want to make a change in anything, you’ve got to do it. You can’t just be speaking of it all the time. And that’s what I did. I said ‘I can do something on my block. I don’t know how, but on my block I can.’”