As the year 2000 approached, many communities wanted to commemorate the new millennium with something historically significant – a landmark that would hold hope and promise for the future and could be enjoyed by all members of the community. The DeKalb Community Labyrinth serves as such a marker, a place where the entire community can gather to slow down, listen, and reflect amidst the greenery of Huntley Park.

This stunning red and charcoal paver labyrinth features an 11-circuit stylized Chartres design with lunations. The labyrinth is 53 feet in diameter, and the path is 18 3/4 inches wide, extending a total of 1,250 feet in length. A Serenity Garden, Phase II of the project, will feature attractive landscaping with trees, bushes, flowers, and benches. A walkway leading up to the labyrinth will be paved with commemorative engraved bricks from the Buy-A-Brick Program (see our fundraising section on website.)

The DeKalb Community Labyrinth and Serenity Garden is a multifaceted project designed to educate the community about labyrinths and encourage community involvement. The educational programs included a labyrinth workshop, the creation of several temporary
labyrinths in parks and schools, and a year-long labyrinth lecture series sponsored by the NIU Art Museum and the Illinois Humanities Council. Community volunteers also assisted with the construction of the labyrinth’s containment ring.

This Museum Without Walls project was the collaborative endeavor of the DeKalb Park District, the Northern Illinois University Art Museum, the NIU Campus Activity Board
Fine Arts Committee, and the DeKalb community.

DeKalb
University of Northern Illinois Art Museum
Museum Without Walls Project
The Living Labyrinth

To commemorate the new millennium, the NIU Art Museum’s Museum Without Walls Program Committee wanted to commission a work of art that would hold hope and promise of a brilliant future for the university and the people of DeKalb. We envisioned The Living Labyrinth, a beautiful and interactive work of art sculpted in the fertile soil of the community. Abloom with daffodils planted by the DeKalb Garden Club, this Classical turf labyrinth is located in the large courtyard adjacent to the NIU Art Museum.

The labyrinth is 60 feet in diameter, and the sod path is 2 1/2 feet wide. Students and faculty from the Art Department spent a day removing sod to form the labyrinthís seven circuits. The Living Labyrinth Project involved a variety of events to educate the community about labyrinths and to encourage broad-based support: a labyrinth workshop,
the creation of several temporary labyrinths in parks and schools, and a year-long labyrinth lecture series sponsored by the NIU Art Museum and the Illinois Humanities Council.

The Museum Without Walls project was the collaborative endeavor of the DeKalb Park District, the DeKalb Garden Club, the NIU Art Museum, the NIU Art Department, the
NIU Campus Activity Board Fine Arts Committee, and the DeKalb community.

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