The Color Factory
Entrance to the Color Factory.
Back in 2020, I was making some photographs on the road when I stopped to see an interesting building in Cleveland’s Waterloo Arts District:
“Poplife Universe” (2017) by Camile Walala, Cleveland. Photographed in 2020 on 35mm.
The former bank had been transformed by London-based artist Camille Walala. Even on a gray day and in an area dominated with unique visual art, Walala’s building stood out and I ended up following her work on Instagram.
A few years later, I saw that she was opening up an installation at Chicago’s Color Factory. After making the impulsive decision to head to the Windy City one weekend, Travis and I put the unique art installation on our list of things to see.
Hailing from France originally, Walala is “known for her ambitious, large-scale and explosively colourful interventions in public spaces,” using “the man-made landscape as a platform for disseminating positivity.” Her work can be found all across the globe from the crowded streets of European cities to the hangars of a rural American airport.
In the Spring of 2022, Color Factory opened a third permanent location in Chicago’s Willis (formerly Sears) Tower. Walala was commissioned to create an interactive exhibit for the space.
Established in 2017 as a pop-up art exhibit, the experiences put together by Color Factory have become immensely popular. Although occasionally derided as “selfie museums,” these exhibits feature talented, prominent artists and are well curated. Arriving at the Chicago location on a Sunday morning, it was clear that this location had not only an emphasis on international artists, but also numerous features that saluted local culture.
Entrance to exhibits.
After walking through the entrance, one the first exhibits was Walala’s interactive maze. At 1,500 square feet, “Perspective Party” described as featuring “carefully chosen colors and patterns inspired by Chicago architecture.” As she described it to artnet in the Spring of 2022, Walala’s goal with this space was to bring out the inner kid in visitors: “When you go to the Color Factory, that’s exactly what you get—the excitement of being a child again.”
Upon exiting the maze, visitors are routed through several more installations such as Yuri Suzuki’s “Bright Noise”…
…and Emilie Baltz’s “Flavorama:”
Described as “the first movie theatre for your mouth,” Flavorama explores the relationship between sense and color.
Flavorama.
Flavorama invites guests to sample pop rocks while looking through a viewfinder to try and determine what “color” the candy tastes like.
Throughout the various exhibits, guests are treated to snacks like macarons and ice cream from local shops.
Macarons from the local Chicago bakery, La Fournette.
Locally sourced ice cream available at the final exhibit.
Each exhibit is interactive to some degree, whether you’re using one of your senses to experience it or just standing, immersed in a room of color and light.
“Night Woods,” an interactive exhibit where visitors walk through strands of fabric and lights.
“Windy City Confetti Accumulation.”
“Immersed in Verses” pairs the words of local poetry students with color.
“Chromarama” explores the connection between color and scent.
“Complementary Compliments” is an active experience that pairs visitors with each other.
The finale is a mint green ball pit, the color chosen as a nod the city’s annual St. Patrick’s Day tradition where the Chicago River is dyed green. With all guests encouraged to try it, even someone as cynical as myself couldn’t resist sinking into a sea of plastic balls (and questionable hygiene) like I was a kid at a McDonald’s PlayPlace again.
On the notion of The Color Factory being a “selfie museum,” it’s hard to combat that label when the facility has built in “selfie stands” which send photos straight to your inbox after visiting.
How are you supposed to pose for these?
However, I think the place deserves quite a bit more credit than that negative designation. Is it very “Instagrammy?” Absolutely. But it’s also a great way to introduce folks to creative, contemporary artwork. A friendly spot that may not be as polished as a modern art museum, but one that’s still entertaining and immersive. To echo Walala’s sentiment, the Color Factor definitely does bring out the kid in you for a bit. And at the very least, it’s a lot fun to spin in circles around her maze while Dead or Alive’s “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)” is blaring.
Since 2007, the content of this website (and its former life as Queen City Discovery) has been a huge labor of love.
If you’ve enjoyed stories like The Ghost Ship, abandoned amusement parks, the Cincinnati Subway, Fading Ads, or others over the years—might you consider showing some support for future projects?
