The Neighborhood Connection Project is Looking for Leaders - Is That You? Learn More on May 25

Greetings Neighbors!

The Neighborhood Connection Project (NCP) is looking for leaders. Is that you?

NCP is the French bricolage underpass mural located in Chicago's Edgebrook neighborhood and the largest public outdoor mural of its type in the entire area, city and suburbs alike (More about NCP is below). And, it's also the mural that is looking for a few citizen-leaders to join us as we move forward for what comes next for this fantastic civic project that has involved over 400 citizens. Being an NCP leader is a great way for citizens to give to their community, get others involved and leave something lasting for future generations.

Interested? Come to the NCP Future Leaders Meeting on Wednesday, May 25 from 6:30-7:45 PM at the Edgebrook Library. As room space is limited, please RSVP to Jac Charlier at jac.charlier@gmail.com. Come and learn more...all citizens welcome!

For more information about the Neighborhood Connection Project read below. You can contact Jac Charlier at jac.charlier@gmail.com or Gina Metelica at gina.metelica@gmail.com. You can also check us out on Facebook and stay tuned to Nextdoor.com, EveryBlock and Reddit.

Started in Spring of 2010, the Neighborhood Connection Project (NCP) is a citizen-led initiative to build community by repairing and beautifying the Metra railroad underpass located at Kinzua, Hiawatha and Lehigh. Completed in August 2015, NCP is the largest outdoor public art bricolage mural on Chicago's Northwest side. Thanks to community funds raised and the tremendous financial support of After School Matters (ASM), NCP also provided summer internships for 90 local teen apprentices.

After securing the input and support of a diverse (and still growing!) cross section of over 400 citizens, four civics, 23 businesses and many other community institutions, NCP was joined by our partners, Green Star Movement (GSM) and ASM. GSM worked with ASM's teen apprentices, our local artists and community volunteers to produce the mural on the East side of the underpass, which was completed as part of Phase I in Summer 2013. Phase II was completed in August 2014 when the West wall work was finished.

Phase III, the middle section, was completed in August 2015. This involved joining the two bricolage murals together in the center. The joining of the East and West sides of the mosaic was done in the same way our American railroads were completed...by meeting in the middle with a golden stake. In the case of NCP, we created a gold spike located in the center of the mural.

The themes of the mural were decided by the community and the actual art reflects both our neighborhood's history, as well as the greenery and vegetation of the area. Special homage is paid to our Native American predecessors and the famous Hiawatha train that ran on these very tracks.