“Wall of Now: Children of the Wall,” is a mural project on the exterior walls of Hyde Park Art Center inspired by the 50th Anniversary of the “Wall of Respect,” an iconic mural presenting portraits of African-American heroes on Chicago’s South Side in 1967. Challenging the standard notion of a mural as a commemorative or celebratory presentation, this project emphasizes a mural’s potential to activate the social and dynamic qualities inherent within art and architecture.

Chicago contemporary street artists Miguel Aguilar (Kane One), Rahmaan Barnes (Statik), Lavie Raven (Raven), and Liz Lazdins (Beloved) were comissioned to collaborate, design, and produce "Children of the Wall", a three-year project raising awareness of the diverse and influential hip-hop community in Chicago. The artists’ drew inspiration from the collective OBAC (Organization of Black American Culture), who created the original "Wall of Respect" a mile away from Hyde Park Art Center from 1967 until 1971. The "Wall of Respect" is recognized as being one of the first works of public art in the South Side of Chicago. Historians including Romi Crawford and Jon Pounds have credited the mural for igniting the creation of public murals across the country during the civil rights era.

Most importantly, "Wall of Now" promotes inter-generational creativity, which is a core value of Hyde Park Art Center. The artists’ are successors to the "Wall of Respect", but also included their own community networks of families, students, teachers and artist colleagues to generate the language and stories presented in the mural. The four lead artist who contributed to "Wall of Now" demonstrate distinct artistic styles developed from their own appreciation of the "Wall of Respect" and worked hard to include a variety of media including photography, screen printing, painting, sound, and community participation to prove that murals are not paint alone. By combining the three artists’ styles into one public platform—the three exterior walls of the Art Center—this project portrays the importance of everyday people being kind to one another, creating safe and respectful space, and valuing the creative contributions made by local artists, dancers, and performers.