New Public Mural Project Pairs Artists with Area Youth

By Christoper Pratt of The Urban Coaster

Artist, Lea Pinsky and Howard Area Youth Program participants collaborate on a new public art mural. Photo by Dustin Harris/Lea Pinsky

A dose of property-owner-pooled money will allow two artists and 75 youth to leave a long-lasting imprint on the Glenwood Avenue Arts District.

For six weeks this summer, Dustin Harris and Lea Pinsky, teamed up with youth from the Howard Area Community Center to paint a 330-foot long mural.

The mural theme, connecting origins to destinations, flows north from Estes, and then south to Greenleaf Avenue. The once-barren concrete wall along the CTA Red Line is now emblazoned in color, and has become the latest chapter in Rogers Park public-arts history.

“These kids learned a lot, also about patience, and taking time, and the value of slow, steady work,” said Pinsky, an East Rogers Park artist, who like her partner, and husband, has a background working with youth.

According to Carolyn Read, most kids involved with the mural project live in Rogers Park, and attend Gale and Jordan Public Schools. Read, the Youth Program Director at Howard Area, said the lead artists conveyed positive messages to youth that are too often dismissed by their communities.

“Let’s not joke around, people think a lot of kids in this community are just causing trouble,” said Read.

Pinsky said, the youth, ages eight to 13, would come running toward the mural on some days, because they were so eager to paint. “It was a special day for them when they would come here,” she added.

The youth were normally stationed at Gale school. However, this project was different, because they could be supervised in the community, pressing China Chip paintbrushes, molding mosaics and listening to Michael Jackson on a boom box.

Kimberly Bares, Executive Director of the Rogers Park Business Alliance, formerly Dev-Corp North, says that after seeking community input, the mural project was considered a worthwhile investment of property tax dollars. The mural, and other community projects are funded through Special Service Areas, a taxing mechanism that lets key organizations choose how some business district property taxes are disbursed. Bares’ organization heads the local SSA.

Bares says the grant was $36,000. She says it is a good investment, despite the economic downturn. She says the mural project fit within the community’s long-term plan to make a home for the arts on Glenwood Avenue.

Artist, Dustin Harris and Howard Area Youth Program participants designing the new mural. Photo by Dustin Harris/Lea Pinsky

Pinsky and Harris conducted research for the mural at the Rogers Park/West Ridge Historical Society. That background aided the artists and the kids throughout the first week of design. The wall was primed during the second week, and the last four weeks were devoted to painting.

Images of Native Americans, immigrants, forests and Lake Michigan were all painted in bright, warm colors. The project was a chance for the kids to learn about history, painting and planning. Interspersed between the characters are one word mosaics that read and emphasize the idea, “reveal roots to respect.”

The artists are still putting the final strokes on the mural, and one of the last steps will be applying Nova paint to the mural. Harris says that bad winters pose a challenge for preservation. He says the high quality, acrylic paint, will hopefully maintain the mural for 10 to 15 years.

The duo plans to have the mural completed for the Glenwood Avenue Arts Fest that begins on Friday, August 21.