Aspire Center for Workforce Innovation

Exhibit + Installation

To honor the new Aspire Center for Workforce Innovation—a space dedicated to workforce development and training—this permanent exhibit highlights the history of the former Robert Emmet Elementary School, one of 50 public schools impacted by the 2013 closures. It also tells the story of the Austin neighborhood, spanning over a century, and celebrates its ongoing, community-led renaissance.

This exhibit, commissioned by the Aspire Center development team, features a historic signage installation as part of the redevelopment of the former Robert Emmet Elementary School, located in Austin, a West Side neighborhood of Chicago. The State Historic Preservation Office requires this type of signage to be incorporated into historically significant buildings that receive state funding for redevelopment.

Borderless Studio, in collaboration with Span, designed a permanent exhibit that chronicles over one hundred years of the building’s history—from its days as an active school to its closure, and the community efforts that led to its redevelopment. The project aims to engage multiple audiences, including neighborhood residents and visitors, by providing various points of access to learn about the Aspire Center and the Austin community.

The result is a dynamic and highly accessible exhibit, located at the main connection point between the existing building and the new addition, serving as a gateway through time and transformation.

Process

Weaving a Story of Transformation

The framework to structure content highlighted the school’s historical significance and contextualized the broader narrative of neighborhood change. This included looking at key moments such as racial demographic shifts, the challenges of disinvestment and decline, and the community's organizing and reinvestment efforts. In close collaboration with Austin Coming Together and Westside Health Authority, Borderless conducted in-depth research and developed content to provide a nuanced understanding of cause, effect, and the transformative journey of the community.

Design

Past, Present, Future

The exhibit’s design is structured around three distinct periods. 1900 to 2000 highlights the active years of the school and its role as an educational and community anchor. 2000 to 2020 features a period marked by sustained challenges for the neighborhood, including the school’s closure, but also the emergence of community-driven revitalization efforts. 2020 to present highlights the Aspire Initiative which spearheaded the development of the Aspire Center. These three chapters are displayed within a gridded, modular framework featuring vignettes of images and milestones arranged in a ladder-like structure. The story flows chronologically from left to right, transitioning from past to present to future, with the displays ascending in the future section to symbolize a hopeful trajectory and the community’s aspirations for continued growth and transformation.