SPR ’22: GLAS 300—Global Asia in Chicago

The Heart that Beats

Instructor: Anna Guevarra

This mural, “The Heart that Beats” was collectively conceptualized and produced by students in this capstone course. Working in three collectives, the mural art directors, catalog writers, and filmmakers cooperated towards manifesting this shared vision over the course of the Spring 2022 semester. The mural pays homage to the beating heart of Uptown, a Chicago northside neighborhood, its People, and the many institutions and organizations that uphold their struggles. It aspires to represent the ‘hearbeat’ of Uptown beyond the edifice of respectability and ‘urban renewal’ to amplify the neighborhood’s spirit of social mobiolization. This final design went through many iterations as the class movedthrough studying, brainstorming, voting, and finally implementation. The mural was completed on 5x8 canvas using acrylic paint on gesso primer. The art collective designed and implemented the collective vision. The filmmaking collective compiled interviews and documented the group’s process of working on the mural. The writer’s collective produced a booklet, a pamphlet, and a plaque. This mural is dedicated to the residents of Uptown.

View a digital image of the mural here

View the actual picture of the mural painting here

Read the mural pamphlet including the artist statement here

Read the mural booklet/catalog here 

View a short video documenting the process of making the mural here

View a time lapse video of the mural design here