In fall 2019, I sat next to friend, colleague and exceptional thinker Michelle Duster, drinking coffee and looking across the street at two gigantic murals heavily featured in Chicago’s Wabash Arts Corridor (at the time I was chief curator of WAC). The murals, which were produced under my predecessor, were fading, chipping away and their contracts had expired. Both artists who created these works had recently been accused of domestic violence against their partners. We were outraged just thinking about it. Michelle was involved in commemorating suffrage history in Illinois and beyond, and I had dedicated my work to supporting BIPOC womxn artists in public spaces. As we looked on at the decaying murals, especially in the context of the #MeToo reckoning sweeping through the art world, Michelle and I talked about the need to double down on investing in new works by womxn artists and we could do it right there on those two walls. We hatched the plan to commission a series of murals commemorating Chicago area suffragists and their stories. By 2020, even in the midst of everything shutting down due to Covid, we formed a committee and set this plan in action. Check out this page to see the first extraordinary work, and read my article in New City to learn what else happened and why we’re still seeking justice.