Initiatives

Wabash Arts Corridor

The Columbia College Chicago Wabash Arts Corridor is Chicago’s living urban canvas in the heart of the South Loop neighborhood. Founded by Columbia College Chicago in 2013, WAC has grown to be one of the most expansive, diverse and accessible public art programs in the country.

This community driven project weaves the visual, performing and media arts into daily life, immersing residents and visitors into artist-reclaimed public spaces that transform the urban experience.

In just a few years, WAC has connected students, artists, curators, academic institutions, cultural organizations and local businesses with educational and cultural programming for the visual, performing and media arts. Artists and curators from five continents have left their mark on WAC with murals, performance, installations, actions and large-scale projections that are always free and open to the public. The Wabash Arts Corridor has emerged as a key player in the city with hundreds of thousands of visitors each year and receiving press from all over the globe.

The founding Wabash Arts Corridor team was comprised of Columbia College staff including Alicia Berg and Mark Kelly (co-chairs), Tara Vock, Neysa Page-Lieberman, Norman Alexandroff, Jacob Chartoff and Joanne Harding. Key founding community members included Abie Vazquez, Sandra Steinbrecher, Sara Dulkin, Jenni Button, Keith Giles, Patrick Hull and many local businesses and organizations like Chicago Truborn, Hilton Chicago, Roosevelt University, Vertical Gallery and Site Design. Later key Columbia staff included curators and producers Meg Duguid, Connie Stanley, Ronda Payne, Mark Porter, Ted Cho, Tracey Drobot and Kari Sommers.

Since 2016 the Wabash Arts Corridor has focused on broadening its portfolio and developed one of the largest street art and public art collections in America, with especially deep representation of work by women artists and artists of color. Three exemplary programs that reflect this direction include STREET LEVEL (2016), Wabash Arts Corri-Doors (2019-2020) and Sister Cities Artist Exchange (2017-2019). And during the summer of 2024, the Wabash Arts Corridor added notable murals by Columbia College Chicago faculty members Ceclia Beavens (Swamp, 916 S. Wabash) and Cheri Charlton (Curious Bunny, 754 S. Wabash, the largest mural in Chicago by a female artist).

In Fall of 2025, the Wabash Arts Corridor is proud to be featured as part of the Chicago Architecture Biennial, for which we will unveil a revamped website, self-guided tour, as well as guided tour opportunities and a panel with founding team members and artists.

• Wabash Arts Corridor
• Initiative