Sophy Hyde Park, a hotel set to open this July at 53rd Street and Dorchester Avenue, donated multiple Smart TV monitors to Hyde Park Academy High School’s art program on May 2.
Sophy donated funds to the high school earlier this year for purchasing art supplies, which were used to create 60 original art pieces representing Hyde Park’s cultural history.
The works were later combined to form a mural that currently serves as an outdoor gallery at the hotel’s entrance.
When it opens, the hotel will display select pieces of the students’ artwork as part of a program that will focus on local artists and topics relevant to Chicago.
The donations and the mural project were initiated by Alicia Garcia-Abner, the president of Trinal, Inc., a Chicago-based diversity and inclusion consulting company.
The donation was presented by Anthony Beach, the general manager of Sophy and an alum of Hyde Park Academy High School.
“We are delighted that this community engagement project has provided these talented students with the opportunity to create compelling work and contribute to the beautification of Hyde Park,” Alderman Leslie A. Hairston told The Hyde Park Herald. “It’s wonderful when our local businesses reach out and involve the students of Hyde Park Academy High School in such a meaningful way.”