A northern Illinois city celebrated the completion of an art project June 18. The city is looking to add another painting to its landscape but with the help of the public.
The City of DeKalb’s Unity Mural at the Lincoln Highway underpass was commemorated with a ribbon cutting.
This week another project is underway.
Andy Raih is the director of streets and facilities for the city. He said the Hopkins Park pedestrian underpass is normally saturated with graffiti and the city wants to change this for the Fourth of July and beyond.
“So, we thought, well, let's keep it simple. And then let's involve the community, kind of a double win,” he said. “It’s summertime. There’s babysitters and parents and people looking for things to do with kids.”
Raih said he thinks if the community comes together to create this art, there’s a better chance that it doesn’t get vandalized.
“So, we decided to try to do something simple, colorful, bright, good entry to the park, you know, a lot of families use it to go to the pool, kids use it to go to the pool.”
The city prepped the walls and painted one side.
Artists young and old, amateur or advanced can paint Tuesday June 22 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Hopkins Park Pedestrian Underpass. Children under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.
Once the mural is done the city will add a coat of graffiti resistant sealer that helps prevent future vandalism.
The city is working on adding more art to its landscape. It recently launched a website to solicit artists for the creation of future murals.
- Yvonne Boose is a current corps member for Report for America, an initiative of the GroundTruth Project. It's a national service program that places talented journalists in local newsrooms like WNIJ. You can learn more about Report for America at wnij.org.
