Street art has long transformed Chicago’s alleys and empty walls into canvases, and Columbia College artists are behind many of the vibrant murals now woven into neighborhoods all across the city.
While 458 murals are listed on the Chicago Mural Registry as of Feb. 28, many others—painted, curated or designed by Columbia students and alumni—add color and commentary without ever being officially recorded.
According to the City of Chicago webpage dedicated specifically towards these works of art, the registry was created in 2018 to not only track the creation of murals but also serve as a way to “protect, preserve and celebrate outdoor murals as significant public assets.”
While the registry helps people discover artwork throughout the city, Columbia has built its own hub for public art right on campus. Launched by the college in 2013, the Wabash Arts Corridor has grown into a living gallery that stretches through the South Loop, connecting the community with work by alumni, faculty and other artists. Now, it is known as “one of the most expansive, diverse and accessible public art programs in the country.”
Assistant Professor in the School of Visual Arts, Cheri Charlton, painted the “Curious Bunny” on the side of the Student Center at 754 S. Wabash Avenue during the summer of 2024. This mural is 11,000 square feet and is the largest mural painted by a woman in Chicago.
Also last fall, part-time instructor Cecilia Beaven covered the front of the 916 S. Wabash building in bold colored alligators and leafy greenery. The mural, titled “Swamp,” encompasses The Rack in bright flowers and vibrant reptiles.
As a part of the Wabash Arts Corridor, Ziccy Delamarter, who graduated in 2024, painted the “Bunny Boy” that can be seen on an exterior door on 720 S. Wabash, across from the Student Center.
In the alley behind the Logan Square distillery, Chicago Distilling Company, at 2359 N. Milwaukee Ave., holds a collection of murals painted by many different artists. Two of the works located there were painted by Columbia artists.
The exterior door was painted by 2023 alum Adele Henning, who goes by the artistic name Hink. A skeleton ram painted on the exterior wall was curated by Columbia alum, Alejandro Martell, who graduated in 2022 with a bachelor’s in illustration.
Hink, who has an illustration degree, has also completed a mural on the outside of the closed Congress Theater in Logan Square. The piece, titled “Project Congress,” was completed in 2023 and was a part of a larger collection of murals that spread across the building.
Columbia alumni Luis Colindres and Tom Molloy found themselves doing smaller, private murals after graduating in 2016 with a degree in illustration, but landed their largest building-wide mural in 2021 for Big Mini Putt in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood.
Copy edited by Vanessa Orozco
