"WOMEN OF THE WALL" SALON TALK CELEBRATES THE 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE WALL OF RESPECT ON MARCH 20TH

Pigment International will present Women of the Wall, a Pigment Salon Talk marking the closing of the Glory! Glory! exhibition on Friday, February 20 from 6–8 pm at the Zhou B Art Center.

The panel will feature artist Arlene Crawford, Janice Bond, Executive Director of the Chicago Public Art Group; interdisciplinary artist Dorian Sylvain, whose work is part of the public art program at the Obama Presidential Center; and Brenda Dickerson, an arts advocate dedicated to strengthening communities through cultural development.

The discussion will be moderated by curator Monique Brinkman Hill of the South Side Community Art Center, the nation’s oldest continuously operating Black art institution created by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) under President Franklin D. Roosevelt.  

The program commemorates the 60th anniversary of the historic Wall of Respect, the groundbreaking mural created in 1967 by artists affiliated with the Organization of Black American Culture (OBAC). Widely recognized as the catalyst for the community mural movement across the United States, the Wall of Respect transformed public space into a powerful expression of Black cultural pride and political consciousness.

While the mural movement reshaped public art nationwide, the contributions of women artists were often underrecognized. Women of the Wall revisits that history while highlighting the women artists and cultural advocates continuing to shape Chicago’s cultural landscape.

Through conversation and audience dialogue, the evening will explore the historical role of women in Chicago’s mural movement, the enduring influence of the Wall of Respect, and the ways public art continues to shape civic identity and community storytelling.

Admission is free and open to the public.

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