Chicago Tribune

A funeral every 11 minutes at this Chicago installation: ‘Suicide shouldn’t be a dirty little secret’

CHICAGO — Beside the long blue hearse on the corner of East Grand and North Wabash avenues, the little yellow signs read “No Parking — Funeral.” Dozens of funerals were underway at the offices of Havas Chicago — one every 11 minutes. The River North ad agency transformed its lobby into a funeral space last Thursday, the pop-up installation dubbed the “11 Minutes Funeral Home.” It held symbolic ...
Ellen Kuratnik looks at a casket in an exhibit in the lobby of the Havas advertising agency building in Chicago, on Sept. 14, 2023. The casket is filled with memory cards encouraging people to be mindful of suicide. The exhibit is in conjunction with National Suicide Prevention Week.

CHICAGO — Beside the long blue hearse on the corner of East Grand and North Wabash avenues, the little yellow signs read “No Parking — Funeral.”

Dozens of funerals were underway at the offices of Havas Chicago — one every 11 minutes. The River North ad agency transformed its lobby into a funeral space last Thursday, the pop-up installation dubbed the “11 Minutes Funeral Home.”

It held symbolic services in honor of everyone who has died by suicide in America

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