91¾«Ñ¡

Students in 91¾«Ñ¡'s Summer Mural Painting course are learning the creative and business sides of public art while completing a large-scale collaborative mural and preparing for professional opportunities beyond the classroom.

Inside a studio at 91¾«Ñ¡'s 623 S. Wabash building, six students are spending their summer designing and painting a large-scale collaborative mural. But assistant professor of Illustration Cheri Lee Charlton says the course is about much more than creating artwork. 

ILLU 402: Mural Painting introduces students to the creative, technical, and professional realities of working as a muralist, drawing on Charlton's 17 years of experience creating more than 40 large-scale public art projects. 

"While the course focuses on mural design and execution, it places a particular emphasis on the professional and commercial aspects of mural practice," says Charlton. 

Offered for the first time during the summer session, the five-week course teaches students how to develop and pitch mural concepts while gaining practical knowledge about material selection, budgeting, proposal writing, estimating labor and supply costs, job-site safety, and securing public art opportunities. 

Students work together to create a mural proposal for a college-based client and then bring that concept to life through a collaborative painting process. 

This summer's cohort includes Liza Smith and Victor Enriquez from Fine Art, along with Dani Lagunas, Arlo Martin, Tanner Alanis, and Trinity Treadwell from Illustration.  

For Charlton, the course reflects the realities of the profession. Murals require artists to think beyond aesthetics and understand how their work functions within communities and public spaces. 

"Through more than 17 years of creating artwork in large public spaces, I have learned that color is one of the fastest ways to change how a space feels," she says. "Before people read an image or even understand the meaning of a mural, they respond emotionally to color." 

Last year, students from the course collaborated with President and CEO Shantay N. Bolton, PhD, on a mural inspired by the college's Renaissance Rising initiative. The work was temporarily displayed in the Student Center during fall 2025. 

This summer's students may have an opportunity to take their classroom experience even further. Following the course, participants will be invited to help develop proposals for a paid public art project Charlton is curating in partnership with the Chicago Loop Alliance. The project is expected to be installed near the Palmer House on State Street in fall 2026. 

The opportunity provides students with a potential pathway from the classroom into professional public art practice—an outcome that reflects the course's emphasis on career readiness. 

Charlton believes murals have a unique ability to transform not only spaces but also the people who encounter them. 

"Murals create a more inclusive art experience because they can be encountered by anyone, without the barrier of admission fees," she says. "They not only beautify spaces but also create a sense of belonging through shared experiences and strong social connections." 

• Visual Arts

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