Ukrainian Village This Fall Runs on Volunteers, Painted Angels, and a Bench on Damen

For a few days this month, the CTA stop on Damen Avenue near Thomas Street had two benches side by side. One is a city-sanctioned ad bench. The other is homemade, painted in the blue and yellow of the Ukrainian flag, built and set down in September by neighbors who were tired of standing. Block Club Chicago photographed the two together after the Chicago Department of Transportation put in permanent seating at both stops where the homemade versions had appeared.

The changes you can actually use between now and January came from a volunteer group and two cultural nonprofits a short walk apart on Chicago Avenue and Superior Street. Restaurant openings inside the neighborhood's boundaries were thin this season. Most of what's coming up runs on neighborhood organizations.

How Two Homemade Benches Became Permanent in a Month

In early September, members of the Northwest Neighborhood Alliance built two benches and placed them at bench-less bus stops: one on Damen near Thomas, the other on Division Street between Oakley and Western. Block Club's September report said the group hoped to grow a larger network. It also planned to wait at least a month before adding more, to see how the first two were received.

The city answered before the month was up. A CDOT spokesperson, Erica Schroeder, told Block Club that the department installed the sanctioned benches "after surveying the locations to ensure there was sufficient space to meet ADA accessibility requirements." She added that CDOT works with ward offices to find bench locations, using either advertising benches or aldermanic menu funds.

The group's founder, Sam Kovnar, told Block Club why he started:

"It's very easy for someone like me to use the bus system when there's really no accommodations. But for someone who is older, who's disabled, who has kids … you have to make the bus system usable."

Kovnar called the city's response a win and said he had expected the benches to be removed or to get an angry letter. The alliance now plans to build three more benches for stops across the larger West Town and Humboldt Park area. Kovnar plans to pick up the two originals, which could go to other stops. A weekend build event was set to make more of them, and some may be painted in other colors, such as the Puerto Rican flag for stops in Humboldt Park.

If you wait for the bus on Damen or Division, that means two stops you now sit at and a few more nearby that may get seats soon. Two neighborhood nonprofits are setting the cultural schedule for the season, too.

The Photography Show That Runs Into January

The Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art at 2320 W Chicago Ave has the longest-running thing on the fall calendar. "Voices From the Gray Zone" is documentary photography and video by Chicago-based photographer and artist Eric Bladholm. He assembled it as a timeline from nine humanitarian-aid trips to Ukraine between 2022 and 2026. According to UIMA, the work shows civilian life, resilience, and worsening conditions in areas affected by occupation and war. Adrienne Kochman and Elena Smolynets curated it, and it fills the West Gallery from September 19, 2026, through January 9, 2027.

The practical details make it easy to fit into a weekend:

Chicago Gallery News also lists the show and confirms the September 19 opening reception, which ran from noon to 4 p.m. UIMA's own events page currently shows no upcoming public programs, so the exhibition is the steady thing to count on there through the holidays. Since it runs about three months, you can go in October and again in December, before it closes.

Ten Days Left for Petrykivka on Superior Street

A block south of UIMA, the Ukrainian National Museum at 2249 W Superior St has a much shorter window. Its exhibition of work by Halyna Nazarenko opened October 7 and is scheduled through October 22. Admission is $10.

Petrykivka is a decorative painting tradition named for the Ukrainian village where it began. The museum says Nazarenko's show includes floral compositions, fantastical birds, the Cossack figure Mamai, painted icons, and maliovky. It also notes that artists keep the tradition going even though the village sits close to the war front. The opening program on October 9 included a mini-lecture by Iryna Voloshyna, PhD.

The museum is also running a hands-on workshop alongside the show. The earlier one, "Bird in Flowers," took place on Saturday, October 10. One is still open:

• "Angel" workshop: Friday, October 16, 4 to 7 p.m.
• Cost: $65, materials included
• Experience: none needed
• What you make: your own Petrykivka angel

An angel painted in mid-October is ready to hang well before the holidays. Combined with a gallery visit at UIMA, it makes one afternoon of two stops roughly a block apart. The Friday timing also makes the workshop the easiest weeknight plan of the season in this part of the neighborhood.

The Calendar Through January

After the Petrykivka exhibition closes, the season's events shift from drop-in visits to evenings that support the institutions themselves. These are the remaining dates, in order:

The two benefits come from the community calendar at Ukrainian Chicago. The gala listing doesn't give a start time yet. The site also notes that its editors don't control event changes and asks readers to confirm details with organizers, so check with the museum and the foundation directly before you plan around either evening.

The benches may keep changing on their own schedule. The Northwest Neighborhood Alliance hasn't said which stops are next, only that three new benches are planned for the wider West Town and Humboldt Park area. Your next stop without a bench could get one before the gala does.

At Dwell Wisely Group, we track what changes on these blocks, from a new bench on Damen to which exhibitions are running on Chicago Avenue, because that's the neighborhood our clients actually live in. If you're thinking about your own place in Ukrainian Village and want to talk it through with someone who follows the area closely, schedule a free consultation with us.