Rubén Aguirre (Chicago) has worked with Art Encounter on two mural projects. In 2017, he painted the Dempster Street Metra underpass in a partnership project with the Main Dempster Mile; and in 2020 he painted a three-part mural at 820 Davis in downtown Evanston, including an interior lobby, two elevator cabs, and a six-story exterior wall. Both projects showcased Ruben’s unique abstract and graffiti-influenced painting style.

Sholo Beverly (Deerfield) worked with us on a rewarding partnership with Curt’s Cafe in 2022. Curt’s provides job-training in the restaurant industry to teens and young adults in need, and this project was part of their summer programming. It was our pleasure to bring Sholo to work with their team on all stages of the mural, which celebrates dreams, hopes, and creativity in designing the future.

Ben Blount (Evanston) is the local artist, designer, and letterpress printer behind our 2021 mural under the CTA viaduct on Washington and Custer. This text-based mural, created in partnership with Main Dempster Mile with funding from the Evanston Arts Council, draws language from the City of Evanston’s 2019 Resolution to End Structural Racism and Achieve Racial Equality.

Jason Brown (Evanston/Portland) collaborated with Lea Pinsky on a series of three “zip code mandala” murals outside the Alley Gallery in downtown Evanston in 2018. The pieces combine Jason’s original drawn designs representing three Evanston zip codes together with Lea’s vibrant color palettes. The colors were filled in by over 200 youth and adult community members at three public festivals (Y.E.A., Evanston Chamberfest, and Streets Alive) over the course of the summer.

Shawn Bullen (New York) painted EMAP’s first-ever mural in 2017 on a Metra wall in downtown Evanston, adjacent to a new residential development off of Davis St. and Elmwood Ave. in partnership with the developer Centrum Evanston. This mural captures the values of transit-oriented development and the energy of the city.

Cheri Lee Charlton (Chicago) has painted with EMAP four times. In 2018, she led 30 troops of Evanston Girl Scouts ages 10–17 in creating a block-long mural at the Lake St. CTA/Metra underpass, commemorating 100 years of Girl Scouts and the organization’s rich history. In 2020, Cheri painted a garden mural in partnership with the local Ridgeville Park District on the exterior of their building at Ridge Ave. and South Blvd. In 2021, she painted five benches throughout the park to complement the Ridgeville mural. And in 2023, she worked with 8th graders at Alcott Elementary School in Chicago to create a beautiful garden-themed banner mural.

Nick Goettling (Chicago/Washington) has created two artworks with EMAP. In 2017, he designed and painted Constellations and Connections at the Central St. Metra Underpass. A partnership project with the Evanston Art Center and the Central Street Business Association, it created a bridge between two active retail and residential areas along a busy corridor in north Evanston. In 2019, he created a digital mural printed onto vinyl depicting healthy living and family connections installed as a window treatment at the new Northshore University Urgent Care Center at 524 Main St.

Dustin Harris (Evanston), one of EMAP’s program founders, kicked off the launch of the program in 2017 with one of his own, the second of two murals on Church St. and Darrow Ave., in collaboration with his wife Lea Pinsky. In 2018 he returned as a solo artist to paint the vibrant and colorful halo mural at South Blvd. in partnership with the Evanston Arts Council and Alderman Cicely Fleming. And in 2023, Dustin gave the South Blvd. mural a much-needed refresh with an updated design.

Louise Jones a.k.a Ouizi (Detroit) painted a three-story mural on a building at 1233 Chicago Ave. in 2019, EMAP’s second partnership project with the Main Dempster Mile. The mural is emblematic of her signature style: native botanicals from the local region against a vibrant purple backdrop.

Tyrue Slang Jones (Chicago) painted a mural with us in 2021 honoring regional birds whose futures are threatened by climate change. This piece, titled Birds of Concern, was sponsored by the Evanston Northshore Bird Club, and is located on the side of a prominent building at 1901 Central Street.

Anthony Lewellen (Chicago) partnered with Downtown Evanston and area businesses in 2018, painting a fun, illustrative, and graphic mural celebrating the dining, activity, and entertainment of downtown Evanston at the Church St. Metra underpass. His project is adjacent to Jeff Zimmermann’s mural, and includes similar themes. The mural was restored in 2023.

James Marshall a.k.a. Dalek (Raleigh, NC) painted two abstract murals on either side of the Metra underpasses at the busy triangular intersection by Green Bay Rd, Emerson St. and Ridge Ave. in a partnership with the Evanston Arts Council in 2018. His signature geometric designs in warm color palettes were created to have a dialogue with the yellow and red i-beam sculpture by Australian sculptor Warren Langley in the center of the intersection.

Alfonso “Piloto” Nieves-Ruiz (Chicago) created a mosaic and painted mural with EMAP on Foster St. in 2017 in partnership with Alderman Robin Rue Simmons and the Evanston Arts Council. In this mural, he combined the use of clay tiles and mirrors to highlight the statement “You Are Brilliant” balanced against a painted image of a youth with the galaxy in her aura.

Jess Patterson (Chicago) painted a mural with us in 2023 for Dawes Elementary School’s garden, honoring four great agriculturalists of North America: George Washington Carver, Cesar Chavez, Delores Huerta, and Wahanee.

Juan-Carlos Perez (Los Angeles) led a youth project with EMAP in 2019, creating a mural on boards for the exterior fence at the Family Focus Community Center (former Foster School) on Foster St. and Dewey Ave. Juan-Carlos worked with 60 children from three different after-school youth programs housed at the center to create a mural honoring the community and the families served by Family Focus.

Lea Pinsky (Evanston) collaborated with Dustin Harris in 2017 on the two murals at Church St. and Darrow Ave, then again in 2018 with Jason Brown on the three zip code mandala murals on plywood boards. She brought her interest in radial symmetry and vibrant color to both of these projects. Lea is Art Encounter’s Executive Director, as well as the co-founder of EMAP along with her husband, Dustin Harris.

Damon Lamar Reed (Chicago) was the lead artist for our 2022-23 partnership project with Dawes Elementary School, where he worked with 5th graders to create a mural illustrating the school’s values: responsibility, integrity, self-awareness, and empathy.

Max Sansing (Chicago) worked with us in 2022 on our second partnership project with Downtown Evanston. He combined his signature style of bright swaths of color and bold profiles of Black youth with imagery of clouds, flowers, and foliage in a dynamic composition along a tall Union Pacific embankment. The work explores the ways that connecting to the natural world supports and sustains our well-being, and is a wonderful respite from the busy-ness of downtown.

Dorian Sylvain (Chicago) live-painted a mural with us for the City of Evanston's 2021 Juneteenth event, creating a piece about transformation and freedom.

Brett Whitacre (Rockford) uplifted a busy business district in south Evanston in 2022, our 4th project with Main Dempster Mile. His work explores the whimsy of a playful tropical oasis on a restaurant-filled street commonly called the Custer Oasis. This mural not only brightens the street for the community on the whole, but makes a lively backdrop for several established restaurants in the area.

Molly Zakrajsek a.k.a. Molly Z. (Chicago) has painted two murals with us. In 2019, she worked with fine arts students from Evanston Township High School on a patterned mural at the Grove St. Metra; she oversaw the design and painted the larger shapes, while the students contributed their own original patterns within the larger design. In 2022, she painted a bold and bright community-engaged mural at the new Trulee Evanston senior living residence, working with residents and neighbors to paint her original design.

Jeff Zimmermann (Chicago) participated in a project EMAP led in partnership with Downtown Evanston and area businesses in 2018, painting a graphic and photorealistic mural celebrating the people, activity, and energy of downtown at the Church St. Metra underpass. His project is adjacent to the EMAP mural by Anthony Lewellen, and includes similar themes. The murals was restored with an updated design in 2023.