Chester I. Lewis Reflection Square Park, Matthew Mazzotta, 2023

SERVICES PROVIDED: Consulting on Design, Engineering, Materials Research, and Fabrication.

For the Chester I. Lewis Reflection Square Park in Wichita, Kansas, artists Ellamonique Baccus and Matthew Mazzotta collaborated on a series of art integrations for the first government-funded arts project to depict an African American in downtown Wichita. The park, located in the heart of downtown, serves as an entry plaza for the Kansas Health Science Center - Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine. This space now also serves as a reminder of Chester I. Lewis’ life and achievements as a civil rights activist.

Within the park, six 15-foot tall steel “echos” progressively appear to open from a steel house frame at the platform stage. These “echo” structures and the house structure hold images that depict the life of Chester I. Lewis. Original oil paintings and drawings by Ellamonique are imprinted onto monolithic glass and anodized aluminum with an assemblage of school bus and airplane parts. The house structure supports two 13-foot painted aluminum wings as well as benches and original tiles. At the base of the house structure is a Lithomosaic embedded in the concrete, an artistic interpretation of the redlined map of the City of Wichita from 1937. Signage with QR codes links to a virtual tour.

The NAACP advocated for the park to be renamed in the 90s, but Mr. Lewis’ transformative work as a leader in the NAACP and attorney to integrate jobs, housing, schools, pools, and restaurants was largely unknown. Community conversations made apparent the significance of the artwork to educate and activate the first space downtown depicting the struggles and triumphs for the equality of African Americans in Wichita. A house opening its roof and walls as it expands across the park symbolizes inclusion and amplification. Above, WINGS of Ma’at, and benches invoke the Egyptian principles of moral responsibility and the scales of justice. Below, the mosaic REDLINING MAP of WICHITA replicates each city block of the color-coded maps used to deny homeownership in 63% of Wichita. Each echo is filled with artworks depicting the counsel and court cases won by Lewis for Pullman Porters and Black Rosies; the youth of the first successful sit-in for restaurant desegregation in the U.S, the Lewis Family legacy, the Wichita Fair Housing March, the day the “whites only” sign came down at the pool, and the end of de facto school segregation. The work is contextualized with quotes and poetry at the site and photos, videos, and audio online.

Select text and images courtesy of Ellamonique Baccus, Matthew Mazzotta, and Nolan Roth/City of Wichita.