New “Hub” Mural Comes to Downtown Kankakee

The Kankakee Development Corporation (KDC) has launched a new initiative to bring a series of murals to Downtown Kankakee.

Dave Baron, a member of KDC’s board of directors and marketing committee chair, has helped to lead the effort, including by designing the first mural of the series—the “Hub”, a colorful map of Kankakee County depicting the rivers and roads of the area.

While this mural expressly welcomes folks from around the region to Downtown Kankakee, it also conveys a message specific to our extraordinary moment in time. The legend on the Hub mural states, “Even in times of upheaval and separation, this map of Kankakee County shows that we are all still connected.”

KDC’s mural series was profiled in the Daily Journal’s Lifestyles magazine in June. As Dave stated in that article, the new murals are more than art. They’re a viral marketing tool for Downtown activity: “The whole idea with this series is to create Instagrammable, postable, interactive murals. Things that people will want to go up to, take a picture with it, and then post on social media to show they are in Downtown Kankakee having a good time.”

The Hub mural was painted by local artist Peter Pagast. The second mural in KDC’s series will be designed and painted by another local artist Jessica Carter. It will be located in the Farmers’ Market parking lot, highlighting themes of growth, vibrancy, and biodiversity in the Kankakee community.