Wabash Arts Corridor Nominated in 2023 USA Today 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards

Campus Communications Staff / May 18, 2023

MooseColumbia College Chicago’s Wabash Arts Corridor Campus Committee launched a student and alumni competition in the spring of 2014 and Moose Bubblegum Bubble by Jacob Watts BFA ‘12, located at 33 E. Congress (south wall), was selected as one of the winners.
WAC 2The Squawkers by Chloe DeVries located at the Hilton Chicago: 720 S. Michigan Avenue (Wabash Avenue Side).
WAC 4Bunny Boy by Ziccy located at the Hilton Chicago: 720 S. Michigan Avenue (Wabash Avenue Side).
WAC 3Bat’s Imagination by Ruby Bean located at the Hilton Chicago: 720 S. Michigan Avenue (Wabash Avenue Side).
Founded by Columbia College Chicago, the South Loop corridor is in the running for Best Arts District.

Chicago’s South Loop Wabash Arts Corridor (WAC), which was founded by Columbia College Chicago, has been nominated in USA Today’s 2023 10Best Readers' Choice travel awards. An expert panel selected the WAC as a contender for Best Arts District.  

According to USA Today 10Best, an inspiring arts district comprises “revitalized and renewed urban spaces in once derelict neighborhoods, big-name museums with architecture as impressive as the art housed within, or streets lined with small galleries and studios interspersed with trendy cafes.” The Wabash Arts Corridor is one of 20 nominees for Best Arts District.   

The winner will be selected based on four weeks of voting. A person can vote once a day for the run of the contest. Voting ends Monday, June 12, and the winners will be announced on 10Best on Friday, June 23 at 11 a.m., CST. 

Since its founding by Columbia in 2013, WAC has grown to be one of the most expansive, diverse, and accessible public art programs in the country This community-driven project weaves the visual, performing, and media arts into daily life, immersing residents and visitors into artist-reclaimed public spaces that transform the urban experience.  

The Wabash Arts Corridor, which features vibrant art projects, connects students, artists, curators, academic institutions, cultural organizations, and local businesses with educational and cultural programming for the visual, performing, and media arts. Artists and curators from five continents have left their mark on WAC with murals, performances, installations, actions, and large-scale projections that are always free and open to the public. The Wabash Arts Corridor has emerged as a key player in the city with hundreds of thousands of visitors each year and receiving press from all over the globe. 

Promoting the use of public space as a “living urban canvas,” the WAC provides artists opportunities to intersect with the cultural and educational assets of the South Loop. 

Learn more about the WAC by taking a tour or discover it all by yourself by following this map.  

Vote today and once every day until June 12.  

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