top 10 stories of 2020 The
The year 2020 was one like no other in recent memory, with cataclysmic events at every turn that challenged old ways of doing things. In the end, appreciating our diversity and taking care of each other remained the common denominators in this year’s Top Ten stories unique to StreetWise.
by Suzanne Hanney
10
You ARE BEAUTIFUl Chicago artist Matthew Hoffman has distributed 6.5 million “You Are Beautiful” (YAB) stickers around the world since 2002. He has received in return pictures of YAB stickers in Amsterdam, Mongolia, Antarctica and above a plaque on a Florida bridge where someone had committed suicide (June 15-21 online-only July 6-19 print, Vol. 28, No. 27). “It reinforced my guiding principles,” Hoffman said, “to do some good and not add to the negativity.” StreetWise named him one of its 20 Most Inspiring Chicagoans of 2020. Whether simple black type on a silver square or block lettering, you can find YAB signs in Andersonville, in Englewood, in Uptown, on South Lake Shore Drive. Recently, he has done other large installations: “Anything is Possible” in Roscoe Village; “Be Your Best Self” in Lincoln Square; “Go for It” in Pullman; “It’s OK Not to Be OK” for the Hope for the Day anti-suicide group. Yes, the common denominator to his works is “You Are Enough,” he said in an email after reflection on his June StreetWise interview. “There’s so much going on, so many voices, people, and companies vying for your attention…it gets overwhelming and confusing. To have moments to be reminded everything’s OK and you’re enough – that’s essential.” It is a message that continued to resonate throughout the pandemic-induced isolation of 2020.
