On the colorful wings of Pittsburgh fame, artist Janel Young comes to Chicago
Janel Young entered the Chicago art scene less than two years ago and in that time has been busy producing public artworks that add color to communities.
A Pittsburgh native, Young has done a handful of interior and exterior murals throughout the Chicago area, from retail spaces to nonprofits, including the exterior of Safer Foundation’s community office building at 808 S. Kedzie Ave. that features U.S. Rep. Danny K. Davis’ image. The 30-foot-high mural pays homage to the legislator’s work in making sure formerly incarcerated people reentering society have the resources they need. (The building will be renamed for Davis as he was the chief sponsor of the national Second Chance Act of 2007.)
Young, 31, has also designed digital artwork for the WNBA’s Chicago Sky, labels for a Black-owned beer and a coloring book. Her bright colors and geometric shapes have been recognized from New York City to Sydney, Australia, and a glimpse at her expanding JY Originals portfolio shows her design range from a Black history logo for Yahoo in 2021 to work featured at the 2020 U.S. Open tennis championship. Young’s artwork has been so prolific in her hometown — from asphalt murals, pandemic-inspired social distance artworks, a 3D mural created with students and an art basketball court in her former Beltzhoover community — that Pittsburgh named Oct. 23, 2019, “Janel Young Day.”
She is on the 2023-2024 Chicago Public Art prequalified list (a group of professional artists, artist teams and arts nonprofits that helps select artists for public art and special commission opportunities with the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events Chicago Public Art Program). Young is also in the middle of completing a fellowship with Independent Sector — a think tank of creatives and change makers from different walks of life that hope to strengthen communities.
Her mission as an artist and community leader is to inspire through creativity and play. We talked with Young, a Peterson Park resident, about her plans for putting her stamp of creativity on Chicago. The following conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Q: Chicago is known for its murals. What was it like coming into this new environment with so much history? Enthusiastic, nervous, intimidating?
JY: It was a mix of all those things. But most of all excited. I was excited to come to another big city that was excited about public art. Coming from Pittsburgh, it was a little more of a battle to convince people to be doing more public art. They’ve come a long way, but I was excited to be in a place where it’s already established. I was super excited when I moved here. Not only for the opportunities where I could go out myself and find walls, but I applied to be part of the roster of pre-vetted public art list in Chicago, and I was accepted for that for 2023-24. I’m officially on that list, which just comes with more opportunities.
It was perfect timing for me. I think that going to a new city can always be a little bit intimidating, because you’re wondering how you’ll be received and building your clientele again and making a name for yourself all over again. But I think that something that’s really awesome is I do have a portfolio that shows my capabilities and that I’m able to have authentic conversations with people and it leads to authentic results.
Q: Did you always want to do art? Or did you try it out and it just snowballed?
A: A little bit of both. They say hindsight is 20/20. Growing up, I was very into coloring, sketching, drawing. My mom does not consider herself artistic at all, but she was always ‘let’s do scrapbooking or anything that has a little arts and crafts flair to it.’ That was where I would release or have fun. Looking back I see how that played a part in my journey. I did go to a creative and performing arts middle school. That’s when I really started digging into painting more and put on a mural team, being exposed to doing bigger work.
When it came to pursuing art after high school, I didn’t think too much more about pursuing art itself as a career. I studied business marketing and international studies in college. I got a job at a PR agency in New York City, worked as a digital strategist. I did a lot of creative stuff with digital and social content, but I wanted to be the one to execute the creative ideas. After five years I quit and started volunteering at a mural company in New York. I got hired there and that kicked things off.
If you asked me 10 years ago, I would have been: ‘I kind of fell into it. But if you look at it now … when kids are in first and second grade and they’re asked: ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ I have evidence that says I wanted to be an artist. But I just don’t think I understood what that meant or how it looked at that time.
Q: Is the plan to sweep across America, working your way west — put a little Janel Young in all these cities?
A: The goal is to go wherever my purpose takes me. I’ve always loved to travel and soak up the inspiration. Anywhere that I’m able to leave my mark and impact the community with something beautiful, I’m happy to do it. I always tell people I go wherever the project is.
Q: What is your signature?
A: Bright colors. Really clean, crispy, clean lines. A lot of my work is geometric-inspired. It’s a lot of shape and color, the symbolism that goes into my shape and color. A lot of people know me for blending color in my work.
I think what makes me stand out a lot of the time is how I like to infuse the community aspect. I consider myself a community artist. So I’m able to take shapes, colors, patterns and transform whatever story I’m trying to tell into something visual.
Q: You’re an athletic person, how does that inform how you articulate your artwork in the world?
A: The short answer: It’s a mentality. Growing up I played every sport, but I really stuck to basketball and volleyball as my top two through high school. It taught me a lot about how to be part of a team, how to be a leader. How I wanted to move and exist in certain spaces. I think all of that has transferred into my art and how I build a team, how to have this lateral leadership style — I can learn from you, you can learn from me. There was definitely one point in my young life where I was like, ‘Yeah, I could play professional basketball,’ but I didn’t know I was only gonna be 5′ 6″. So there’s that realization of OK we need to pivot, what’s the next dream? And figuring out how to do that. And having the determination and the discipline, and the pride to practice and to be really good at something. All of that plays a part in how I do my work and when it comes to more literal things.
When I was still working at my (job) in New York, I don’t know what made me Google ‘how to paint a basketball court.’ I just remember feeling ‘that’s what I need to be doing, stuff like that, not sitting at this desk.’ And two years later, I did a court. When I painted the court, it made me realize how things were supposed to happen and how they were supposed to come full circle and how everything that I had learned up to that point was coming together for my good in that moment. It’s becoming really trendy to do these colorful courts, but as a player, I had an advantage of creating a design that didn’t distract players from the game itself. It just enhanced what they were doing.
Q: On Janel Young Day, do you feel compelled to go back home and celebrate?
A: The first year, I did hold a community day in Pittsburgh. I would love to do something for the five-year anniversary, next year. But the thing that I do every single year on Janel Young Day is I open applications for the JY Original scholarship for creatives. I give away $1,000 to a young person pursuing art and that money can be used however they see fit. That’s the legacy that I want to leave, the one thing that I want to keep going.
Q: Is that strictly for Pittsburgh students?
A: No, it’s nationwide. I’ve had a winner from Boston, Pittsburgh and from New York. I definitely want more Chicagoans to apply this year. The age range for the scholarship is 16 to 22. I would love to be able to expand that and offer more than one scholarship for different age groups at some point. Applications open on Oct. 23 every year, they close Dec. 31 and I announce winners in January.
