Title:  Jensen Academy Mosaic Mural


Site:  Jensen Scholastic Academy
3030 W. Harrison Street, Chicago

Artist: Juan Chávez


Assistant: Karin Warch


Community Participants: Jensen Scholastic Academy students and staff


Sponsors:  Chicago Public Art Group and Jensen Scholastic Academy


Year:  1998


Scale:  150 square feet


Materials: Broken ceramic tile


Information:  Combining mosaic and painted mural techniques, this mosaic uses Adinkra symbols from West Africa to represent the qualities of wealth, love, hope, strength, forgiveness, patience, resilience, and defiance. Among the mosaic’s innovations is the use of separate rectangular areas to organize the composition and the use of tile line drawings in beds of colored stucco.