Local News

‘Smiles’ posters losing their grip on local walls

Smiling faces posters on the west side of Ridgewood Tap are starting to peel away from the wall, but the posters were not intended to be long-lasting. (Eric Crump/H-F Chronicle)

The big smiles on three local buildings are starting to experience some attrition.

The “Smiles Are Contagious” project posters that appeared June 1 on two Homewood buildings and on Flossmoor village hall were never intended to be permanent, and in the past week or so they have started detaching from the walls they were glued to.

The photographs of Homewood and Flossmoor residents smiling was the final project of the H-F High School fine arts students. They worked with the international InsideOut Project, which has done similar installations in 138 countries.

More than 100 images were attached with paste to the west wall of the Ridgewood Tap at Ridge Road and Harwood Avenue, to the north side of the former Suzie’s Hallmark building at 18065 Harwood Ave. and to the north and east walls of Flossmoor village hall, 2800 Flossmoor Road.

Homewood Events Manager Allisa Opyd, whose daughter, Grace, was involved in the project, said a few posters were starting to come loose just a few days after installation.

“The main goal was to have them up for Artisan Street Fair (June 3 and 4) which successfully they were,” she said. “Unfortunately, the weather and wind did not help the longevity of the posters either.”

She said as the posters start peeling from the wall, public works staff has been removing them. 
She said the week of June 12 village officials will review the situation and see if the rest of the posters need to be removed. Until then, there are still plenty of big smiles to enjoy.

“We have had only positive responses to the public art initiative, and I do believe it brought a smile to all,” Opyd said.

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