26-Nov-20 – Their canvases were storefront windows in the Loop and now seven Chicago artists hope their public art pieces will spread joy over the holidays.

Paint the City, an alliance of artists whose goal is to “heal the city through art,” were matched with five business locations along State Street in the Loop. They started painting on November 19 and the artwork is now on display through the first week of January.

“It’s...exciting to create murals in a neighborhood I once roamed in my youth, and now I have the opportunity to create something the youth of today can appreciate,” said Barrett Keithley, co-founder of Paint the City, who painted windows at theWit hotel. “This project is the perfect opportunity to spread love and light in such a dark time.”

(Left) Window of Staypineapple hotel, at State & Washington Streets in the Loop, painted by Cookie Kwan and Jae Webb.

About 75 artists who comprise Paint the City have volunteered their time to create murals throughout Chicago this year, often on boarded-up windows.

The artists were invited to paint the windows along State Street by Chicago Loop Alliance, which is working to attract people back to the Loop and accelerate economic recovery.

“Chicagoans deserve a joyful and safe holiday season,” said CLA Director of Planning Kalindi Parikh. “We want to celebrate the holidays in the Loop in a way that people can enjoy safely and from a distance. We also want to support local artists and businesses. We’ve done storefront window painting projects in the past and found them to be really impactful, so we’re excited to be incorporating this tactic into holiday celebrations.”

Created by Roho Garcia, Barrett Keithley, Cookie Kwan, Blake Lenoir, Missy Perkins, Jae Webb, and Dwight White, the painted windows are located at...

• 130 South State Street (Blake Lenoir)

• Macy’s, 111 North State Street, Wabash side (Dwight White)

• Staypineapple Chicago, 1 West Washington Street (Cookie Kwan and Jae Webb)

• The Joffrey Ballet, 10 East Randolph Street (Roho Garcia)

• theWit, 201 North State Street (Barrett Keithley and Missy Perkins)