Aurora Artists Create Works Of Unity After Downtown Damage

AURORA, IL — Artists in Aurora have spent the past few days hard at work, painting messages of unity on windows boarded up after being damaged during protests and looting Sunday night. Jen Evans, the city’s public art director, called on local artists this week to turn the broken windows into beacons of hope.

Much of the new artwork is located along Broadway between New York Street and Galena Boulevard, where numerous businesses were damaged Sunday.

Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin earlier this week estimated looters — a small portion of the hundreds of people who protested Sunday — caused at least $3 million in damage to businesses and public property. In addition to broken windows and stolen merchandise, the Family Dollar Store on New York Street was destroyed by flames early Monday morning, fire officials have said.

Sherwin Williams and Home Depot donated materials to artists, according to a news release.

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