In this comic essay inspired by the Art Design Chicago exhibition Arte Diseño Xicágo: Mexican Inspiration from the World’s Columbian Exposition to the Civil Rights Era, the Ladydrawers Comic Collective provides its perspective on the history of public art in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood, the role that design and the Mexican mural movement have within the community, and the generations of artists who live and create work there.

Read and view What Came First, the Neighborhood or the Artist? on Sixty Inches From Center’s website. 

Throughout 2018, Sixty Inches From Center will produce essays, interviews, videos, podcasts, and more in conjunction with Art Design Chicago exhibitions and programs. Learn more about the editorial partnership here.

Arte Diseño Xicágo is on view through August 19 at the National Museum of Mexican Art.