STEPHANIE GARLAND


We catch up to artist Stephanie Garland (better known as “Stef Skills”) at the Graffiti Garden, the concrete embankments between Central Park and Kimball avenues. They’re the perfect canvas for the kind of bold, colorful work she’s known for.


“In the past, Chicago has been puni- tive toward street art. But The 606 makes me optimistic about the fu- ture: I appreciated that artists were included in the opening and that the community is allowed to curate itself. That doesn’t always happen. Graffiti artists get lumped in with


gangs, but they’re often the kids who’ve chosen not join—to find another outlet. There are also a lot of people who are curious about the graffiti they see, but don’t know how to read it. I led a tour of the art on The 606 and got a great reception. It felt good to see that people appre- ciated the work.”


We’d heard about the Graffiti Garden even before we saw it: photos of the murals in progress appeared on the Friends of the Bloomingdale Trail Facebook page earlier in the day. The advocacy group was founded in 2003; online, its members post stories and tips. “Reason 1,341,299 to love the trail ... rolling home with groceries,” wrote one neighbor. Another shared his version of a missed connections ad, describing a woman who passed him on a run. There’s a bit of self-policing, too: people remind others of trail etiquette, like keeping dogs on a short leash and passing on the left.


W 32 · LAND&PEOPLE · FALL/WINTER 2015


KIMBALL AVENUE E


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