"Descending to Heaven" and Into the Wabash Arts Corridor!

Darryll Schiff's mural “Descending to Heaven” is here at last! The 24 x 56 foot photo mural can be found illuminated at 710 S Wabash. The latest public art piece installed as part of the Wabash Arts Corridor went up January 25^th and the lights turned on following the installation. “Descending to Heaven” is the first piece in the Wabash Arts Corridor to be lit up! The opening drew quite a crowd, where Chicago art enthusiasts admired the work visible at night.

The latest public art piece installed as part of the Wabash Arts Corridor went up January 25

It was an excellent turn out for the opening reception of “Descending to Heaven” held at Elephant Room, Inc., an intimate gallery in close proximity to the mural. Crowds gathered to celebrate the artwork funded through Darryll's successful Kickstater campaign, where many in attendance were donors themselves – and now curators of public art! Ever since the mural went up Darryll has been receiving an overwhelming amount of press, including articles and studio interviews by media outlets such as DNAinfo, the Chicagoist, and WCIU  among others.

The location of Darryll's mural has made it the center-piece of the public art corridor, facing Columbia College's Papermakers garden and visible by foot, car and even train for those on Wabash and 8^th or riding the rails between the Roosevelt and Harold Washington stops.

Together Darryll Schiff the artist and Mark Kelly the architect behind the Wabash Arts Corridor delivered a heartfelt speech on the fruition of this passion project, that has been in the works since March of 2015. Mark jokingly commented that Darryll, a soft spoken man with a gutsy attitude wanted a piece of this and gave us a great piece of art. Darryll, with that same gutsy attitude joked back that his involvement with the Chicago public art scene wouldn't stop here, but there will be larger works on the horizon.  

Darryll is so excited to finally have his mural up, stay tuned for more exciting news and more regular posts! Thank you to everyone who helped make this exciting public art piece happen! - Lauren Ike