Program Note
When I first walked into Hamlin Park with coaches Bill Heglin and Johnny Plaza, I came not from a sports background but from the performing and visual arts. Stepping into the boxing gym, I was struck—literally and figuratively—by three things:
- the boxing canvas floor, layered with gray tape, sweat, and traces of blood,
- the sharp artistry of the fighters, whose rhythms reminded me of musicians, and
- the profound sense of community and camaraderie that held it all together between the ropes.
These three elements became the foundation of CANVAS.
I was immediately captivated by the boxing ring floor—visually stunning, like a work of art already telling its own story. Poetic, too, that a boxing ring shares its name and material with an artist’s canvas. As a professional violinist, I found myself learning rhythm through counterpunching, understanding it as counterpoint. Fighters practice their instruments daily through shadowboxing, sparring, bag work, and rhythm study with the same discipline as professional musicians. From them, I learned lessons of rhythm, community, and the corner.
This piece is a recognition of how the boxing community operates. Even retired professionals, world champions, and Olympians returned to shadow-paint for their Chicago Park District gyms. That act alone tells the story: each of these gyms is a support system, a place where miracles happen and lifelong relationships are built, where many of us find another kind of corner.
I want to thank the coaches who work from the heart, the fighters who give everything—especially when it’s hard—and Eighth Blackbird for inviting me to submit this project and pairing me with my colleague Ethan as cultural workers. Thank you to Lisa Kaplan and Matthew Duvall, executive producers of these three performances, and to Margaret Halquist, Coordinator for Night Out in the Parks, whose dedication has made them possible.
Deep gratitude to the Park Directors and staff whose support grounded this work. And a special recognition to my colleague, musician, and production director Ethan Cowburn, who has been in the corner of every round of this project. CANVAS is incredibly lucky to have you in its corner.
This work could have remained a conceptual idea—but it is the boxers who shadow-painted, shadow-boxed, and shadow-composed it that transformed it into music scores, paintings, and kinetic works of art. The greatest credit belongs to them.
Relational Art teaches us that when we return to our roots, art is not separate from community but born of it. Art is relationship. A shining example of this is Ms. Nellie Lugo at Humboldt Park, whose dedication to connecting art, community, and relationships inspires my practice.
Thank you for welcoming CANVAS into your studio and for your generous support.
— Noelia Cruz
To my coach Johnny
for getting me back into the rhythm,
making me a winner in his book,
and being unconditionally in my corner—
and the corner of hundreds of fighters.
Credits
CANVAS
for improvised ensemble, boxers,
saxophone, clarinet, vibraphone, bass,
congas, boxing bell, boxing clappers,
boxing sounds, and percussion
Concept, Direction & Relational Art: Noelia Cruz
Composer, Kinetic Score: Noelia Cruz
Production Director: Ethan Cowburn
Kinetic Score Co-Created With:
Chicago Park District Boxers
Interpreted By (Improviser Ensemble):
- Ethan Cowburn – percussion
- Zachary Good – clarinet
- Preyas Roy – vibraphone
- James Singleton – bass
- Johnny Plaza – congas
- Ed Wilkerson – saxophone
- Noelia Cruz – boxing bell, clappers, hammer
Relational Artwork — Gestural shadowpaintings
in collaboration with Chicago Park District Boxers
Conceptual Artist: Noelia Cruz
Compositional Process
The Kinetic Score was composed by Noelia Cruz as part of a relational art process that integrated boxing movements, shadowpaintings, and gym sonorities into a notated and visual score. This score, co-created with Chicago Park District boxers through embodied gesture, was subsequently interpreted by an improviser ensemble in live performance.
Fighters
Chicago Park District Boxers who shadowboxed, shadowpainted, and shadowcomposed in this piece:
Abdiel Rosado · Amory Graves · Anthony Mendez · Ari Davis · Asma Awass · Ayden Sullivan · Brian Ellis · Briana Arias · Charlie Anderson · Daniel Reyes · Darius Mason · Daville Wells · David Díaz · Edwar Arias · Elijah Vazquez · Eric Claudio · Ethan Sosa · Fres Oquendo · Harry Glass · Ivy Jones · Jaiden Medina · Jayceon Shelton · Jesus Bermudes · Jonas Rivera · Jordan Johnson · Joseph Hernandez · Josiah Denis · Julian Garcia · Juliet Lopez · Laila Minnifield · Liam Hernandez · Luis Mateo · Luis Miranda · Maria Lopez · Marco Colon · Marco Colon Jr · Mateo · Nathaniel Perez · Nikolas Cuevas · Omar Gomez · Ramiro Hernandez · Ricardo Valdivia · Samantha Patlan · Sullivan · Susie Lopez · Tellis White Jr · Tristan Butler · Yamileth Gomez
Executive Producers: Eighth Blackbird
Director: Noelia Cruz
Production Director: Ethan Cowburn
Performances presented by Night Out in the Parks and Eighth Blackbird
Chicago Park District Boxing Director: Angel Ocasio
Humboldt Park Coach: Johnny Plaza
Hamlin Park Coach: Jesus Cerda
Calumet Park Coach: Clemont Clay
Featured Coach: Henry (Portage Park)
Special Thanks
- Humboldt Park Chicago Park District Staff
- Nellie Román, Humboldt Park Art Program Director
- Raquel Maldonado, Chicago Park District Area Manager
- Jesus Pérez, Park Director
And all the wonderful Park employees who so carefully assisted with this art piece:
Darnell Williams · Jerry Collazo · Amado DeLeon · Eladio Rivera · Ray Calixto
CANVAS Film:
Director: Noelia Cruz
Camera: Noelia Cruz
Editor: Noelia Cruz
Staff, Partners & Collaborators
Panels fabricated in collaboration with Fabrication 408
Associate Graphic Designer: Randy Ford
Public Relations & Media Manager: Nina D. Sánchez
Web Design: Camila Cruz
Easel Engineer: Mike Sánchez
Production Management: Ethan Cowburn