OREANDA-NEWS. The University of Chicago's Arts + Public Life Initiative and its Office of Civic Engagement have received a grant from Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) to reimagine a vacant lot in Chicago's Washington Park neighborhood and transform it into an active community gathering place. This project, which is commissioning design and production proposals from local artists, is located directly across from the University of Chicago's Arts Incubator and will complement its focus on providing active and stimulating programming for people in South Side communities and throughout the Greater Chicago region.

This is the sixth project to be selected for a Heart of the Community grant. Thiscompetitive and collaborativeprogram, in partnership with Project for Public Spaces, supports and revitalizes public spaces in the hearts of cities nationwide.

The vision for the new space in Washington Park will be created in partnership with the local community through placemaking – a movement and process rooted in community-based participation that involves the planning, design, management and programming of public spaces and capitalizes on a community's assets and potential to create vibrant destinations. Project for Public Spaces (PPS), the pioneering nonprofit organization behind placemaking, facilitated a series of workshops and events with the community over the summer to develop the preliminary vision for the new public space.

As a continuation of this Placemaking work with PPS , the Arts + Public Life Initiative released a RFP for design and production concepts for a suite of outdoor furniture which will be used in the new space. The proposals, which are due on January 18, 2015, will be evaluated and a local artisan will be chosen to complete the project in spring of 2015.

"We admire the University of Chicago's efforts to leverage creativity and the arts to strengthen the local community," said Megan Lee, Senior Manager of Community Outreach at Southwest Airlines. "Southwest Airlines recognizes the power public spaces have to transform communities and is excited to support the efforts to revitalize this space in Chicago, a city we've been serving for nearly 30 years and our number one airport in terms of departures."

The Arts Incubator, which opened in 2013, is a vibrant center of artistic activity and public programming and has brought new life to Garfield Boulevard. It is now home to a residency program, which supports artists in all disciplines whose work will impact the city's cultural landscape, a design apprenticeship program for young people in the community and a rich array of public programs. Inspired by the vision of internationally recognized artist and urban planner Theaster Gates, director of Arts + Public Life at UChicago, the Incubator has already been the hub for dozens of events and thousands of attendees looking to further connect with the arts and their power to transform a community.

"My practice is rooted in the belief that the arts and culture can transform how we think about urban spaces, and drive change both by bringing in outside investment and by helping residents to reimagine what is possible in their communities," said Gates. "The Heart of the Community grant will bolster the work already underway at the Arts Incubator, and bring new energy and vitality to Washington Park."