Naperville’s new public art collaborative has two ideas for displays that could come to the Riverwalk next year.
ArtForum is seeking permission from the Naperville Park District, Naperville Riverwalk Commission, and City of Naperville to move forward with the ideas, which would be temporary installations to bring visual interest and an international flair.
The park board discussed the proposals, called Wind Phone and Light Anemones, during its most recent meeting last week.
Wind Phone
The idea of a wind phone originated in Japan, Franczyk said. It’s a phone booth containing a real receiver not connected to any line, and it’s meant to be a contemplative place for healing from grief.
“The wind phone invites visitors to call loved ones who have passed away — to say things left unsaid, to find connection and to release emotion into the wind,” the nonprofit ArtForum wrote in its proposal. “The experience is quiet, self-guided and deeply personal.”
ArtForum hopes to install the Wind Phone along the Riverwalk just west of the Millennium Carillon in Moser Tower, near the small quarry. Franczyk said the group is fundraising for the project and hopes to have it in place for about six months, from spring to fall of 2026.
Although there are wind phones scattered across the globe, Franczyk said these pieces don’t follow one standard design.
“Naperville’s will certainly be its own, she said, “but part of a larger collective.”
Wind phone in Otsuchi, Japan. Photo courtesy: Matthew Komatsu (https://longreads.com/2019/03/11/after-the-tsunami/), CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Light Anemones
Created by German artist Malte Kebbel, Light Anemones is a floating sculpture “designed to reflect natural light during the day and provide an illuminated, kinetic display after dark,” ArtForum wrote in a description of the piece.
The sculpture would be installed by the Canadian art curatorial company Wireframe, as it has been in sites including Singapore and France. ArtForum hopes to show Light Anemones, floating atop Paddleboat Quarry along the Riverwalk, for about a month from mid-October into mid-November of 2026, board member Erin Franczyk said.
“It will be a really nice way to greet autumn when the time change happens,” said Franczyk, an art and design professional brought in by Shannon Greene Robb during the founding of ArtForum earlier this year. “When it’s getting dark out earlier, that part of the Riverwalk isn’t necessarily utilized. This will bring people to that area.”
ArtForum is applying for a grant from the city’s Special Events and Community Arts fund, known as SECA to fund Light Anemones. So far, the SECA Commission has recommended an award of $65,000, Franczyk said. SECA funding awaits City Council approval early next year.
Park board thoughts and next steps
Naperville Park District Executive Director Brad Wilson said both ArtForum proposals would require the approval of a resolution by the park board to recognize them as free speech acts along the Riverwalk, but located away from the designated Free Speech Pavilion. Park district staff is drafting resolutions that could approve each piece, he said.
Commissioners mainly commented about the safety and maintenance of each potential installation. Wilson said ArtForum would be responsible for any needed repairs while each piece is on display.
While Commissioner Chris Jacks said he finds the Wind Phone, and its idea of speaking to the deceased, “kind of odd to me,” others on the panel said it could be a place to release emotions in a new way that might prove helpful.
Vice President Rhonda Ansier said the potential presence of the Wind Phone wouldn’t force anyone to engage with it.
“I’d never heard of one, either,” she said. “My only concern was as far as location, just making sure it’s safe and that it still allows for that privacy or quiet moment for people.”
Wilson said park district staff will work with ArtForum to choose a final location if the idea moves forward. Commissioner John Risvold said the Wind Phone would be consistent with the district’s mission of promoting healthy bodies and minds.
“Especially offering folks an opportunity to improve their mental health and wellness,” Risvold said. “As long as we can ensure that it’s safe and stays in good repair.”
Commissioners expressed no concerns with the Light Anemones idea, which Franczyk said is consistent with the response across the community so far.
“I think people are very enthusiastic about it,” she said.
Featured image photo courtesy: 2019, Festival of Lights, Berlin, Potsdamer Platz (GR), Artist Malte Kebbel
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