For those enjoying the hunt for cicadas, you’re in for a big treat. Really big.
In Ravenswood Manor alone, residents have spotted a rare silver, jewel-eyed cicada, as well as one with blue eyes and multicolored wings. Another cicada has the familiar red eyes and orange wings, but its shell is a plastic shopping bag.
These new creatures are 18-inch, plaster sculptures decorated by Chicago artists, and they are popping up in parks, in front of homes and even on light poles.
They are part of a public art initiative called “Cicada Parade-A,” which was launched by artist Michael Bowman in Baltimore. Bowman has partnered with the Avondale-based Insect Asylum to bring the project to Chicago. Earlier this year, artists were encouraged to buy cicadas for $75 each, or adopt them for free in exchange for decorating and displaying them.
“I’ve been getting text messages, emails and Instagram messages [saying], ‘Spotted a cicada today!’” said Nina Salem, founder of the Insect Asylum. “It’s encouraging people to learn more about cicadas. It’s encouraging people to be inspired by cicadas. People of all ages, genders, backgrounds and ethnicity are embracing this project, which is really beautiful because it’s an opportunity for all of us to realize that we’re not so different from each other.”
A whopping 1,300 sculptures were claimed, with nearly 250 submitted for inclusion in the Insect Asylum’s forthcoming interactive map on theinsectasylum.com. The sculptures are currently being installed, and will remain on view until day Labor Day. And the organization is still accepting requests to help sponsor the project.
“Cicada Parade-A” coincides with the emergence of real-life 17-year and 13-year broods in Illinois, which are overlapping for the first time since 1803.
Participating artists were encouraged by the Insect Asylum to reflect on the last 17 years of their lives as they designed their sculptures.
“My life has been so transformative,” said Rebecca Zemans, 43, whose cicada is on display in LaPointe Park in Ravenswood Manor, where she lives.
“Literally 17 years ago, I moved back to Chicago [from San Francisco] and started a jewelry business,” she said. “I was in stores all over the country, and I had customers all over the world. And then I had my third child during the pandemic and I was like, ‘I’m not sure I can be selling diamonds anymore.’ And so I started painting.”
Zemans’ blue and orange cicada, Lilli, is named for the Lillstreet Art Center, where she started her business and now works on her new art projects.
“I’m reemerging as an artist,” she said.
For Darick Maasen, designing his cicada gave him a chance to use hands-on materials, which is a departure from his usual work as a digital artist.
Named Mothcadra, Maasen’s colorful cicada — also in LaPointe Park — is inspired by the Mothra character in the “Godzilla” franchise.
Like cicadas, Mothra is a symbol of rebirth and regeneration, Maasen said.
“Community art projects are fascinating,” said Maasen, 42, of Albany Park. “They’re transformative of spaces, they allow conversations and they’re interactive. That’s the point of any kind of public art installation.”
Artist Maja Bosen hopes to impart a message of optimism with her silver cicada, Esperanza, whose name means “hope.”
“It was a very strong name,” said Bosen, 60, of Ravenswood Manor, who has also contributed to Cows on Parade and other Chicago public art projects. “It has an essence of grace about it. The idea of hope for a better future and some change in this world, especially now, would be awesome.”
Bosen said she has enjoyed the social aspect of the “Cicada Parade-A” initiative.
“It’s a wonderful way to interact with the community and a group of artists that you haven’t met before,” she said. “It just expands your reach and your awareness.”
