(WBBM NEWSRADIO) – Chicago is known more or less as the birthplace of spray paint, but it’s been illegal to buy a can within city limits for more than 30 years.
That’s paradoxical to public-art advocates, given the proliferation of admired murals across Chicago, some of which utilize the banned product.
“Sometimes when things get outlawed, it increases the likelihood that more people spray-paint,” says Chantal Healey, executive director of Chicago Public Art Group that forges relationships between artists and communities.
“We have a number of artists that started out as straight spray-paint artists and graffiti artists and felt a pull toward it and then became mural artists. And most of them use spray paint.”
Chicago leaders sought to prevent property damage and vandalism with the spray-paint ban, but street art has become more widely accepted over the years. Indeed, says mural artist and urban planner Chris Devins, thoughtful public art can benefit neighborhoods and stimulate interest in them.
“These walls serve as collective memory walls,” said Devins, who specializes in painting Black historical figures. “A neighborhood without neighbors becomes ‘the hood.’”
The podcast Looped In: Chicago takes a look at the impact of murals.
“Growing up in Chicago, it’s an urban jungle,” says muralist Mario Mena. “If you want to go to the forest preserve or you want to go to the lakefront you need money—CTA. Some kids may not have that.”
But walking around your neighborhood and seeing the public art can be inspiring and uplifting, he said: “It just creates this reclaiming of public space.”
Listen to our new podcast Looped In: Chicago
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