Series of projects to reimagine and remember
William Walker’s iconic mural, whitewashed in 2015

a collaboration with local artists and teens from After School Matters

 

About

William Walker’s historic All of Mankind Mural was whitewashed in 2015. Created in 1972 with the help of neighbors, it was located in the Cabrini Green neighborhood. The mural is thought to be one of Walker’s best pieces of art. According to the Chicago Public Arts group,

The mural depicts the interrelated cultures of the world and calls on all people to honor each other’s differences while decrying the worldwide loss of leaders to assassination and the suffering caused by atrocities and violence. The church façade features one of Walker’s recurring motifs: the faces of people of different races interlocked in a symbol of brotherhood.

Beginning in February of 2020, Art on Sedgwick, local artists, and teens from our Art & Impact After School Matters course worked on a series of projects to reimagine and remember this mural.

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TEENS – Teens created a series of masks and had discussions involving personal histories led by artists Erica Mott and Andrew Holmes. They then went to our March 1 “Drawn Together” show and began to collect neighborhood histories from the people attending. Sadly, before their efforts could be displayed for the community, the COVID-19 lockdown began and we changed the idea of a public performance to something that could be socially distanced.

ARTISTS – Art on Sedgwick artists Hannah Dykstra, Andrew Holmes, and Pierce Cruz re-created masks that depict the interlocking faces of the mural. The masks are currently on display in the Art on Sedgwick Studio.

COMMUNITY – Hannah Dykstra led an online painting class to raise awareness of the mural. Community members recreated the mural with watercolors in their own homes while learning about the history of Walker and the mural itself.