Robert Valadez is a painter and muralist from the Pilsen neighborhood in Chicago, with a studio in Bridgeport. Erika and Andrew met him there to discuss his choice of medium, the history of mural painting in Chicago, and the themes of advocacy in his work.

“I don't know why I gravitated toward towards mural painting,” Valadez told us. “It’s just something resonated with me about the scale, and scale as a medium. You know, doing something large, it adds something to the work. There's something to the way that you interact with it.”

Be sure to check out our accompanying essay about this episode over on our Substack site!

This audio first aired on WLPN 105.5fm in Chicago on January 14, 2022.