Michigan Avenue lighthouses raise awareness, funds for visually impaired

Some new public art is lighting up Michigan Avenue.

The lighthouses are designed to raise awareness and money for Chicago’s Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired.

The artworks carry a special message since they were crafted by artists who face challenges in everyday life.

There is a magnificent art exhibit illuminating the Mag Mile and you can see it to the end of August. They are 6-foot-tall lighthouses and they are designed by artists with special abilities like Jeff Hanson, who has donated works of art to Warren Buffet and Elton John.

“This experience having my artwork on the Magnificent Mile is an extraordinary honor and it brings awareness to people like I, like you mentioned, to show your abilities, not your disabilities. And you show what you can do, instead of what you can’t,” Hanson said.

There are over 50 lighthouses that are going to be along the Magnificent Mile.

We asked Janet Szlyk, the CEO of Chicago Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, how she came up with the idea.

“Well I noticed the dogs last summer and I thought ‘wow, what a great way to spread the message to a large audience.’ So I thought it also made sense to have light houses because we’re in Marina City. We’re on the Lake. Why not have light houses?” said Szlyk.

It’s an extraordinary idea and of course brings a little more color and life to Michigan Avenue. If you’re interested in purchasing one of the lighthouses, they’re going to be up for auction toward the end of August and all of the proceeds are going to benefit several non-profits that help individual who are blind or visually impaired.

And if you want more information about each one of the lighthouses, you can download an app called "Otocast." You can hear the artists in their own words describing what this project means to them and how they got the inspiration for their lighthouse.