What makes the CCIL mural special?
It hearkens back to the earliest murals of the mural movement [which started in 1967 with a mural called “The Wall of Respect” at 43rd and Langley on the South Side of Chicago, the first-ever community mural], in the sense that it has a very powerful and positive message that is presented to the community in which it’s located. A mural is a reflection of and speaks to [its] community. Q: Why is it important for the community to be involved in public art projects like this one? A: [Community involvement] was not there in the very first moments of the mural movement, in which it was essentially artists who made these works for the community. But very quickly it evolved into artists working with the community to evolve and express these messages. That’s what’s a powerful and positive piece here — that the community members also feel ownership of the message. Q: Was it important to have a piece of public art outside CCIL in particular? A: The building, as beautiful as it is, had nothing o
