- Joe Levy
- Coming soon to your smartphone.
An unlikely team comprised of a former English lit major, a retired neuroradiologist, and an IT consultant is collaborating on a smartphone app to guide people through Chicago’s public-art sphere.
“The app is like a pocket guide or a Michelin guide book,” says Joe Flowers, chief technical officer and IT entrepreneur. He, McDevitt, neuroradiologist turned photog Joe Levy, and a handful of other volunteers, have built the app from the ground up. They’ll showcase well-known Chicago art attractions like the Bean, of course, but they’ll also highlight underappreciated works of art, the kinds of pieces “generally unknown to all but art aficionados and Chicago history buffs,” McDevitt says. In Bronzeville, home to one of the first few walking tours, you’ll be able to check out pieces like the “Louis and Lil” bench, a work by Ted Sitting Crow Garner that’s dedicated to Louis Armstrong and his wife, or the McCullough “Walk of Fame,” a commemoration of African-American culture.
When the iPhone app is released in November, you can expect a handful of tours at first and more content coming in waves. An Android version will follow shortly.
