Cicada Parade-A in Berwyn
As part of the Cicada Parade-a project, BPAI donated and secured 17 blank cicada sculptures to be transformed into public art in Berwyn.
We invited local artists, community partners, and students to help decorate the 17 insects to be displayed in public spaces for everyone’s enjoyment.
Project Background
Cicada Parade-a was a large-scale collaborative art project organized by The Insect Asylum and Formstone Castle Collective that was on display in and around Chicago, May through the end of summer 2024. This project celebrated the once-in-221-year re-emergence of Broods XIII and XIX, Illinois’ 17-year and 13-year cicada broods. The periodic cicadas returned by the trillions to Illinois during the spring and summer of 2024 to re-emerge, sing, and meet others. Read More about the original project!
Sculptures were on display May – September 2024
“...17 years ago I was a stranger in our Berwyn community. ...I had no connection to this place and just saw myself as an outsider, too busy to do much of anything…Flash forward to now and I feel like I’m a part of a larger community. ...We have built gardens and a network of friends and family that all enrich our lives in ways I didn’t even imagine 17 years ago.”
Location Map (until September) 2024
This map shows photos of the different locations but cicadas have been removed.
Participants
Irving Elementary and Freedom Middle School @berwynsouth100, Jefferson Elementary mrsgsartroom123 / @berwyn98 / bn98.org, North Berwyn Park District @northberwynparkdistrict, South Berwyn Park District @berwynparks (Installation Locations), Berwyn Township berwyntownship.org (Installation Locations), Berwyn Public Library (Sarah Gutierrez) @dinosora2021 / @berwynlibraryil, Morton High School (Robert Moriarty) morton201.org / @evloverob, @lainey_k25, @themuckery.co, @jessylaubishandmade, @nerfect, @rainbow.nose.bleed, @34Designed , @bohusblahut, @_alena_mendoza_, @ican_dothat (not all participants have online accounts). We also invited Berwyn artists who had purchased or received their cicada directly from the Insect Asylum to share their work: @benjaminnelsonart, @jane_sirinek, @berwynsouth100, @nosloasil, @bangindesigns, Sarah Palazzolo.
Enjoy the gallery below and read all the engaging 17-year Transformation Stories!
Special Thanks
Alex Rodriguez of ARELECTRIC helped with the installation of the 23 sculptures all across Berwyn. We couldn’t do this without our volunteers!
Berwyn Cicada Gallery
Coloring Sheets
Photos from picking up the Berwyn choir from The Insect Asylum
You can directly support the main project and find contact information to sponsor and purchase on the official website. See pictures of past art cicadas here.
Artist Tips to decorate plaster sculptures
Join the Facebook Group for a network of cicada loving artists: https://www.facebook.com/groups/cicada2024