We Deserve Beautiful Things 1
Role: Design Concept & Creative co-Direction
Year: 2024–Present
Medium: Cedar Planks, Metal Planters & Seasonal Plantings
Project: Englewood Arts Collective × Grow Greater Englewood
Creative Collaborators: Paola Aguirre / Borderless Studio (renderings and consultation); Andrés Lemus-Spont / Building Brown Workshop (fabrication)
We Deserve—Beautiful Things #1 is a living public sculpture that transforms a message of collective dignity into a physical expression of beauty, endurance, and community care.
Born from a desire to expand the impact of Grow Greater Englewood's We Deserve Beautiful Spaces campaign, the sculpture reimagines a graphic identity originally designed by Janell Nelson into a monumental wooden raised fist surrounded by living plants. As lead artist for Englewood Arts Collective, Nelson helped bring the concept into physical form through collaboration with urban architect Paola Aguirre of Borderless Studio and designer-fabricator Andrés Lemus-Spont of Building Brown Workshop.
Considering themes of endurance, ownership, self-determination, and growth, the artwork was conceived as a proof of concept for a potential series of public art interventions, each evolving in response to its surroundings, collaborators, and community.
The sculpture was first unveiled on August 22, 2024, as part of Gertie’s Next Stop Chicago (see video below) campaign, alongside Grow Greater Englewood's BLK Abundance Dinner at the future entrance to the Englewood Nature Trail at the “Englewood Gateway” at 58th and Halsted (a viaduct & mural design Janell led with Englewood Arts Collective in 2020) . This public art initiative highlighted the role of public art in addressing infrastructure inequities and expanding possibilities for historically disinvested communities.
A declaration of worth, designed to grow.
Unlike a static monument, this living sculpture continues to change. Seasonal plantings, creative contributions, maintenance, and communal stewardship become part of its ongoing composition. What began as an artistic declaration has become an evolving demonstration of collective care.
The sculpture's growth is both literal and symbolic: a reminder that beautiful spaces are not simply created. They are cultivated, cared for, and sustained together.
EAC cofounders gather at the unveiling of the sculpture in 2024.
Floral Artist John Caleb Pendelton of Planks and Pistils activated the sculpture for Father's Day in 2025 at Janell's behest/event design.
The Sculpture has been modified to engage with the public throughout the years.