Chris Devins

Big Picture Artist. Public art about people and the  places we live in. 

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Bronzeville Residents Want Answers After Nat King Cole Mural Removed 

The decade-old mural was the first installation of South Side artist Chris Devins’ Bronzeville Legends series. Neighbors say the building's

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NAT KING COLE MURAL on 43rd and King Drive Torn Down by New Building Owner.

Got a call from a local that today around 3 pm, the new building owner at 43rd and King drive had some workers tear down the Nat King Cole mural, to "clean the wall." The Nat King Cole mural was a community led placemaking project that I started in 2012 and completed on July 21, 2014.

I'm not sure if they discussed this with anyone before doing it. The mural was paid for in part by Ward 3.

The new owner is the Reach for the Stars Childcare academy.

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Chris Devins — Grokipedia

Chris Devins is a Chicago-based artist and urban planner with a Master of Urban Planning and Policy, renowned for creating large-scale publi

#Grok did a nice summary of my outdoor work

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New catalogue - Collective Narratives - Bridgeport Artist Community

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In collab with the Bridgeport Artist Community we are pleased to announce the release of Collective Narratives: Exhibition Catalogue, now available for purchase. This full-color publication highlights the work of 36 artists, including myself, from across Chicago who participated in the Collective Narratives exhibition. The catalogue documents the diversity of voices, materials, and perspectives that shaped the show and offers insight into the influences and inspirations behind each practice. 𝐂𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬 Price: $35 Format: Softcover, full color Featured: Artist statements, exhibition images, and curatorial reflections To purchase a copy, please complete the Google Form via this link:

https://bit.ly/Collective_Narratives Thank you to all participating artists and to everyone who supported this project. We are proud to share this publication as a lasting record of an important moment in our creative community. 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 Phedra Gilene Takako, Delphine Pontvieux, Valerie Zee, Mark Nelson, Tetyana Movchan, Sophie Harding-Jackson, Susan Bennett, Chris Devins, Trotter Alexander, Austin Reilly, Josh Cook, Laura Gilmore, Lucie Van der Elst, Melissa Arostegui, Brenda Hernandez, Shawny Green, Phillip J. Turner, Liang Yu Huang, Eryn Turner, Ryan Miller, Marco Bendin, Rachel Joyce, Beatrice K. Turner, Jade Boudreaux, Jamie Kost, Kara Mitton, Rosa Galicia, Qianyu Fu, Alan Sue, George Lindmark, Demi Sedrakyan, Anne Nacht Morgan, Katherine Cox Knapp, Israel IZ Ramirez, and Kuna Na.

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Midwest Art Agenda - A mural for Sculptor Richard Hunt? Hyde Park artist says it’s long overdue.

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A mural for Richard Hunt? Hyde Park artist says it’s long overdue

Richard Hunt's sculptures are all over Chicago, but there isn’t a mural of him. One Hyde Park artist wants to change that.

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Michelle Duster, civil rights activist #IdaBWells' great granddaughter, at the Ida B. Wells #RichardHunt sculpture discussing her Hunt mural #GoFundMe campaign.

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Chicago Insight November 2nd 2025

Michelle Duster and I joined V103 Chicago Insite host Darryl Denard this weekend to talk about the great Richard Hunt and spread the word about our mural crowdfunding effort. Interview starts at 12:00 in. Running on V103, WGCI and Inspiration 1390am.

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About 10 years ago, community organizer Johnnie Owens began taking me around to meet the residents, stakeholders, community organizations and politicians of Bronzeville. Though I attended school in the neighborhood at Holy Angels and my mother grew up there, speaking with the area’s people really opened my eyes to Bronzeville’s rich historical legacy. Enriched by over 2 years of conversations, the concept of the Bronzeville Legends Initiative cultural district public art initiative began to form in my mind. A community vote was held, the first courses of action decided on and the initiative was born. The first piece was a mural of Bronzeville Legend/entertainer Nat King Cole, on 43rd and King drive. Since then the initiative has expanded in scope to include the Pullman area, Hyde Park, Chatham and South Shore and has been covered in almost every major newspaper, both locally and internationally. Looking back never in a thousand years did we think our little community initiative would spread so far, be so influential. I appreciate the support from support from the community and many of Bronzeville's notable champions like the Bronzeville Historical Society, Harold Lucas, Dr. Tim Black, Alderman Dowell, the team from the Bronzeville Trail project and others. The initiative is still bearing fruit. Up next is a 3 story mural of America’s most prolific sculptor, the Englewood-born Richard Hunt. We appreciate your support over all these years and as such will be posting some memories of the original meetings from which this group and initiative came to fruition. 10 years is a good time to remember the community’s efforts and quiet activism through public art.

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After 10 years, the public art/cultural district campaign known as the Bronzeville Legends Initiative, which was created by me with support from the community and many of Bronzeville's notable Bronzeville champions like Johnnie Owens, the Bronzeville Historical Society, Harold Lucas, Dr. Tim Black and others, is starting to gain traction. We appreciate your support over all these years and as such will be posting some memories of the original meetings from which this group and initiative came to fruition. The community's efforts as originators of this style of quiet activism through public art must be remembered and respected.

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Cause I'm a Man...

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Steal the Treasure

Seven levels, seven Devils in all, seven sins, seven ways top fall... this one cost me everything