Support Sculptor Richard Hunt's Mural in Chicago's Hyde Park
Donation protected
FIGHT BACK. THEY ARE TRYING TO ERASE US. WE NEED TO SEND A MESSAGE. Help us create a 3-story mural of America’s most prolific sculptor, Richard Hunt.
PLEASE DONATE ANY AMOUNT YOU CAN. NO AMOUNT IS TOO SMALL.
President Trump: “We will terminate every diversity, equity, and inclusion program across the entire federal government.”
Hours after taking office, Trump began issuing executive orders to dismantle DEI programs, pressure federal contractors to end their programs, and create lists of private companies to investigate for their DEI policies.
In March of this year, workers dismantled the Black Lives Matter Plaza a block from the White House and removed the iconic BLM mural. All over the nation, murals of Presidential Candidate Kamala Harris were covered over within days of the election results. The current administration is trying to restore Confederate monuments and statues and is defunding the Smithsonian Museum of African American History.
These are more than just attacks on DEI programs and murals. As writer Shanita Hubbard said in a recent Huffington Post article, Black Art has always been a “method to help our people find paths to freedom.”
My name is Chris Devins, and since 2014 I have been publicly exploring the intersection of Black faces and places, creating large murals all over the United States, but especially in Chicago, Illinois. I have murals of A. Philip Randolph and the Pullman Porters, jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong, pianist and singer Nat King Cole, Jennifer Hudson, Kanye West, poet Gwendolyn Brooks, writer Lorraine Hansberry, and many others.
I have done my best to promote positive images of African Americans and other marginalized people and have spoken out publicly against racism and anti-Semitism.
I am reaching out to let you know about a project I'm working on, a large-scale mural of African American sculptor Richard Hunt, America’s most prolific sculptor, in Chicago's Hyde Park community. He's the world-renowned artist who created the Ida B. Wells National Monument in Bronzeville, Chicago, and who has more outdoor sculptures than anyone in the world. He passed away in late 2023, and I truly feel that he deserves to be honored in a meaningful way by the community.
With my previous attempts to honor notable Black, Brown, and Jewish people, most of them had already passed away, so I only had old, public domain photos to work with.
I was lucky enough to catch sculptor Richard Hunt while he was still with us and to take many original photos of him, one of which will be the basis for a 3-story mural. I have a wall already arranged, some funding, and a support letter from the local Alderman. We just need to fill in the funding gap with a bit more money to get to our goal. Once we have raised the funds, we will complete the mural within a few weeks. This is a large, costly mural of the quality and scale befitting someone of Mr. Hunt’s importance.
If you like what we are trying to do, support, believe, and make a donation. I can’t tell you how grateful we will be.
PLEASE DONATE ANY AMOUNT YOU CAN. NO AMOUNT IS TOO SMALL.
From his website: “Richard Hunt was a native Chicagoan, with over 70 years of experience creating abstract works suggesting recognizable human and natural forms. Of Chicago, he produced more than 150 public-site sculptures. Chicago is home to 35 Richard Hunt sculptures, and his work can be seen throughout the United States and as far away as Jerusalem and Vienna.
In 1971, Richard Hunt became the first African-American sculptor accorded a retrospective exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. ......Hunt holds 16 honorary degrees, and his work is represented in major museums and collections internationally, including current exhibits at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Chicago Cultural Center. Among his hundreds of creations are The Light of Truth: Ida B. Wells National Monument and Book Bird, which he recently completed for the forthcoming Obama Presidential Center on the South Side of Chicago.”
I am an award-winning muralist (2023 Richard H. Driehaus/Landmarks Illinois Award) https://www.landmarks.org/preservation-programs/richard-h-driehaus-foundation-preservation-awards/bronzeville-legends-chicago/ and am excited to create this mural.
Chris Devins
Artist
Twitter: @chris_devins_
Organizer
CHRISTOPHER DEVINS
Organizer
Chicago, IL