11 Spots for Mural Hunting In and Near the Chicago Suburbs

 

Public Art Adventures Featuring Murals In And Around Chicago Suburbs

Mural hunting inspires awe, delight and your own creative processes. Plus, celebrating the arts can be done in any time of year and in any weather. In fact, it can be quite interesting to marvel at local art creatures in the sun, with snow, on a cloudy and more to see how the elements affect the piece. Enjoy wandering through my own gallery of 11 nearby areas I love to revel in murals:

Illinois

Aurora: Aurora is a true art center thriving with innovation in a variety of creative endeavors. Aurora murals delight including  magical "Wings" by Sam Cervantes. I am personally delighted by the painted utility boxes! Pretty cool! Art galleries, sculptures, art walks, the Paramount Theatre and more inspire invention in Aurora.

Evanston: Evanston's art scene is quite thriving with opportunities for all of us to spark our creative spirits. Large scale murals throughout Evanston delight and beg for cheerful selfies. However, my favorite murals are the fantastic Garage Door Murals of artist Teresa Parod. Two Evanston alleys form an outdoor gallery of these fantastic pieces. Truly a treat to visit!

Teresa Parod's bold sunflowers impress on any day!

Naperville: The streets of Naperville present many opportunities for exploring public art. While wandering town popping in and out of stores, I love spying a creation in perhaps an unexpected space. Naperville Century Walk incorporates a blend of murals, sculptures, mosaic and more throughout the public spaces of Naperville.

Oak Park: Oak Park features a series of mini murals created where possible along the railroad. There are dozens of these mini murals forming quite an art gallery. I love this concept of beautification!

Rockford: We visited Rockford after the CRE8IV festival in 2019 enjoying a variety of new murals throughout Rockford. Rockford's murals add a fantastic vibrancy to the city. I really enjoyed the colorful mural featuring birds by artist Chris Silva pictured below.

Vibrant birds in flight! Beautiful Rockford mural by Chris Silva
incorporating the ivy on the brick wall. 

Skokie: On a meander through Skokie this winter, we enjoyed spotting a few murals of the Skokie public art scene. One of our favorite mural discoveries is the Sick Fisher Mural on the Skokie Theatre. The mural is a wonderful nod to the theatrical arts. We usually pair a trip to Skokie to nearby Grosse Point Lighthouse for lake views or even more mural viewing in Evanston! For sculpture while enjoying nature, head over to the Skokie Northshore Sculpture Park.

Skokie Theatre Mural by Sick Fisher. I love the drama masks!

St. Charles: The St. Charles Arts Council has put together a great listing of all of the public art in St. Charles including the St. Charles murals! Additionally, there is an audio tour that you can take to explore the town's public art.

Waukegan: Waukegan features a thriving arts scene including an ArtWauk every month. Keeping with that creative spirit, the town fascinates with a collection of murals as well as public sculptures. The "Dream Big" mural and Ray Bradbury Sculpture may be of particular interest to Ray Bradbury fans!

Wisconsin Mural Adventures:

Delavan: Most recently, we have toured the murals of Delavan, Wisconsin. The vibrant murals unroll the history of Delavan including art, agriculture, recreation, industry, service and more. We learned all sorts of tidbits while following the mural trail of 20 incredible public art pieces. Such a neat way to blend art and history!

Whimsical Two Horses Mural being painted by artists Jessie Willyerd and Tim Cahill
 in Janesville, Wisconsin.

Janesville, Wisconsin: Last summer, I visited Janesville during Art Infusion and had the amazing opportunity to witness several murals being created throughout Janesville. Janesville has a wealth of murals reflecting the history, culture, small businesses and the beat that is Janesville. Two stunning murals by artist Jeff Enriquez including the Black Hawk Mural are not to be missed. Viewing Janesville public art is quite an inspiration adventure throughout the year.

Kenosha, Wisconsin: In addition to being on of my favorite spots to wander the shoreline of Lake Michigan, Kenosha also provides a delightful adventure in public art explorations. Following the Kenosha Wall Crawl, wanderers can admire 15 murals throughout Kenosha. You will be delighted to know the Kenosha has more public art beyond this crawl including sculptures and mosaics.