In a meeting to discuss a new mural alongside the Blue Line tracks and Milwaukee Avenue, members of the Logan Square community and leaders from art group AnySquared discussed the history and new goals of the Project Logan Mural Wall at Medill Avenue. AnySquared will put up a new mural this summer with the help of the Artistic Bombing Crew (ABC), a Chicago graffiti crew that has been active in the city since 1979.
AnySquared (2328 N. Milwaukee Ave.) hosted the May 12 meeting with a presentation and hand-outs of how to get involved in the Logan Square mural, which will replace the current green-and-blue mural. Artists and community members consulted after the meeting to share ideas and discuss resources.
The existing mural is located at 2930 W. Medill Ave., and the new mural will take its place along the 12-foot by 136-foot wall. Currently, the community mural is a scene of sky and land, with plants, butterflies, flowers and more. As discussed in the meeting, its location is ideal, allowing it to be viewed by pedestrians, vehicle traffic and CTA train traffic. The meeting’s presentation highlighted the 82,000 CTA Blue Line weekly ridership.
A side effect of its ideal location is that it is often tagged, as taggers also take advantage of the heavy traffic. The wall, however, is meant to stay intact for a period of time (about five years is planned), and the AnySquared team must remove tags often.
A paint date has tentatively been set for July 26, and rain days will also be considered.
To volunteer ideas, time, money or resources, contact projects@anysquared.com.
ABC member Flash, an active member of the Logan Square community, spoke at the meeting about the importance and history of the community wall and of the rotating exhibition wall around the corner, where ABC invites graffiti artists to put up their creations. ABC also maintains the current mural when it is tagged.
The rotating wall, which stands at 9 feet by 50 feet, rotates every two weeks.
“Graffiti captures that time period,” Flash said at the meeting.
