2025 Murals

Below are locations and images of the three projects completed in EMAP’s ninth year. View the rest of our murals by year on our Projects, Artists, and Partners page. And check out our google map to go see these artworks in person!

Darius Dennis
909 Foster Street

Artist Darius Dennis of Big Wall Signs and Murals designed and painted this elegant mural at 909 Foster Street as a welcoming and wayfinding piece for the Maple Foster Business District. The image of a stained glass maple leaf is centered within a faux painted circular brick frame, creating a stunning “trompe l'oeil” (trick of the eye) illusion of three-dimensionality on the wall.

Community Partners: City of Evanston, Maple Foster Business District

Mario Mena
Chute Middle School, 1400 Oakton Street

Artist and teacher Mario Mena collaborated with 6th–8th graders at Chute Middle School to create this striking outdoor mural, which evokes ideas of home, migration, and transformation to celebrate Chute's unique student population and their stories. Thank you to Healing Illinois for providing funding for this project, which beautifully compliments the school’s butterfly garden!

Community Partner: Chute Middle School

Miguel A. Del Real
Orrington Plaza, 1603 Orrington Avenue

To create our first-ever ground mural, Miguel A. Del Real used a colorblind-accessible palette and dynamic composition full of organic movement and art deco flourishes. The design is equally striking whether viewed from ground level or from above by those in the Orrington Plaza building!

Community Partners: Downtown Evanston, Golub & Company, Hagerty Consulting, Magnetar Capital LLC, UL Research Institutes, UL Standards & Engagement, City of Evanston

Molly Z.
Central, Harper, McKenzie, and Romona Grade Schools in Wilmette

EMAP veteran Molly Z. worked with 400 fourth graders across four Wilmette schools to create these four biomorphic abstract murals. She started by creating outlines of the initial designs inspired by the schools’ mascots before passing the baton to the students, who filled in the details by adding their own personal patterns.

Community Partner: Wilmette Public Schools