The Folded Map Project Favorite 

Practitioner: 

Date: 

Jul 25 2020

Location: 

Chicago IL

The Folded Map Project is a project by Tonika Lewis Johnson, a photographer and community activist from Chicago. The project aims to investigate and change the racial and economic segregation that affects the city and its residents.
The project started as a photographic study, where Johnson visually connected residents who live at corresponding addresses on the North and South Sides of Chicago. She called them “map twins” and showed how their neighborhoods and living conditions differed drastically. She also invited them to meet each other and have conversations about their experiences and perspectives.
The project quickly evolved into a multimedia exploration, where Johnson added video interviews, interactive maps, public events, and educational resources. She collaborated with the Department of Sociology and the Urban Data Visualization Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Chicago, as well as with various community organizations and institutions.
The project has received widespread attention and recognition, as well as funding from grants and donations. It has been featured in various exhibitions, publications, and media outlets. It has also sparked dialogue and action among Chicagoans and beyond, who are interested in addressing the issues of segregation, gentrification, and inequality.
The Folded Map Project is an example of artistic activism that uses creativity and culture to effect power. It challenges the status quo, exposes injustice, and inspires social change. It also creates bridges and solidarity among people who are separated by physical and social barriers.

External sources: 

https://www.foldedmapproject.com/context
https://news.wttw.com/2020/02/11/folded-map-project-highlights-chicago-segregati…
https://www.luc.edu/foldedmap/
https://response.arts.ufl.edu/the-folded-map-project
Posted by ctl9185 on Apr 18 2023

Staff rating: 

0

Effectiveness

How does this project help?

Activates (people)Energizes and organizes people into action. Can include emotion work
Amplifies (issue or campaign)Brings public and political attention to an issue or campaign.  Can include prefigurative action, making the invisible visible.
Strengthens (community)Strengthens, builds and celebrates community through ritual and/or symbol.
Shifts (culture)Shifts the cultural landscape in order to imagine and enable change.

Timeframe For change

This project seems to be part of a campaign with a clear short-term goal. Short-term goals tend to be things like: create or repeal a law; get a President impeached; make the city administration repair a sidewalk. A campaign with a short-term goal needs a clear theory of change, complete with targets that can be cajoled or pressured into effecting the goal.
The short term goal is to raise awareness and spark dialogue about the issues of segregation, gentrification, and inequality in Chicago and how they affect people’s lives and opportunities.
This project seems to be part of a campaign with a clear long-term goal. Long-term goals tend to be things like: end racism; end homophobia; make the sun stand still in the sky. A campaign with a long-term goal also needs to have some kind of theory of change.
The long term goal is to inspire social change and create bridges and solidarity among people who are separated by physical and social barriers.

Notes

It is effective in raising awareness and sparking conversation about the issue of segregation and its impacts. It has received widespread attention and recognition from various exhibitions, publications, and media outlets. It has also reached a large and diverse audience, both online and offline. It has facilitated meaningful conversations and exchanges between the map twins and the audience. It has also created a sense of empathy and understanding among people who are separated by physical and social barriers. Lastly, it has motivated people to imagine and pursue a more equitable and integrated city.