The City of Chicago and its Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events has announced several new public art projects coming this summer and fall, including wraps on CTA trains and neighborhood murals, including one honoring the city’s house music tradition.
“The new artist-designed train wraps are unique ‘moving murals’ on display throughout Chicago,” DCASE Commissioner Clinée Hedspeth said in a release. “Mayor Brandon Johnson and I believe that public art tells the story of our city — its beauty, its resilience, the soul of Chicago. We’re thrilled to be showcasing local artists and cultural communities on the CTA and with neighborhood murals.”
The train wraps project (rendered below) is titled “Track(ed) Changes: Democracy Runs Through Our Neighborhoods” and is produced and project managed by the DCASE Public Art team working with the Chicago Transit Association and curated by Bob Faust. Participating artists include: Brandon Breaux, Bob Faust, Kristoffer McAfee, Noel Mercado, Carlos Rolón, Esperanza Rosas, Territory, and youth artists with Urban Gateways.
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Meanwhile, neighborhood murals will go up around the city, from Bronzeville to Edgewater. In the West Loop, a public mural on the Office of Emergency Management & Communications/OEMC Garage in collaboration with Englewood Arts Collective will be dedicated to “celebrating house music and its influence,” by Chicago-based artists Kayla Mahaffey and Rahmaan Statik.
“Chicago is embracing public art as a defining characteristic of our city,” Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said in a release. “My administration through DCASE is currently managing nearly 80 public art projects in airports, transit hubs, and other spaces — totaling $11 million in investments across 26 wards. We’re proud to share Chicago’s story and the power of the arts with residents in diverse communities across this great city, and with visitors from across the globe.”
Probably the most most notable public mural tribute to house music was the Frankie Knuckles mural at 815 W. Hubbard Street. The mural was intentionally painted over last year after after the tribute to Frankie and a nearby one of Juice WRLD were repeatedly vandalized. One of the original artists, Mike Slugs, commented that “was in terrible shape for quite some time. It was impossible to do upkeep. @revisecmw and I fixed it a couple of times. Not much was left visible on the FK MURAL. The Juice WRLD mural started to get the same treatment. Whoever buffed it, shit brown, replaced one eyesore with another. But at least Frankie is no longer being disrespected. We’ve done this mural twice, we’ll do it again!”
Top Photo by Patrick L. Pyszka, Samuel Sotelo-Avila, City of Chicago
