The Chicago Public Art Group (CPAG) invites you to join us for the “Southside Roots Mural Tour: Art Inspired by William Walker.
The tour will begin at 10am, at the CPAG Studio, 600 W. Cermak Rd. (Cermak and Jefferson).
We will travel by bus with our guides, Author Jeff Huebner and Artist Bernard Williams, to the Hyde Park Art Center, 5020 S. Cornell Ave., to view the exhibit “Bill Walker: Urban Griot,” curated by Juarez Hawkins.
This show features paintings and rare works on paper by William Walker, a Chicago artist who created the 1967 artist-collective mural Wall of Respect, in collaboration with the Organization of Black American Culture. Walker’s work focuses on the complexity of urban life; homelessness, prostitution, and poverty interposed with family, spirituality, and community.
The tour will continue on to examine significant works inspired by Walker from the contemporary mural movement of the 70s and 80s. The tour includes two dozen socially conscious street murals and community-art sites.
The South Side of Chicago boasts more vintage African-American outdoor and community murals from this era than any other city in the nation, many of which have been restored in recent years. These murals depict themes of hope, heritage, pride, power, protest, and action, and form a largely unsung part of the city’s cultural legacy.
The tour will run approximately 3 hours and conclude at the CPAG studio with refreshments.
This tour is presented in conjunction with Art Design Chicago, an initiative of the Terra Foundation for American Art celebrating Chicago’s art and design history, and in partnership with the Hyde Park Art Center.