Year in Review — 2025
2025 was an incredible year for the Berwyn Public Art Initiative thanks to all of our supporters, volunteers, and community members who contributed to each of our projects. We wanted to take a quick moment to reflect on all our projects this year!
We end this year with an eye towards 2026 and are thrilled to continue to make Berwyn a more vibrant cultural destination. Interested in joining the fun? We are always looking for volunteers!
In January, We kicked our year off with a street art sip and paint event hosted at Friendly’s Community Room led by board member Josh Valdovinos.
In April, BPAI joined Berwyn Roots to develop a community mural for the children’s garden at Proksa Park.
On May 18th, BPAI was thrilled to host our first Art House Tour fundraiser. We raised $4,500 thanks to ticket sales, sponsorships, and raffle ticket sales made possible by in-kind donations. Thank you to all of our generous homeowners, tour docents, volunteers, and donors who made this event a smashing success!
Arte y Cultura, BPAI’s major permanent installation in 2025, was made possible by grant funding via ComEd and The League of Chicago Theatres’ Powering The Arts Grant ($8,000), a donation from North Berwyn Park District ($5,000), and a philanthropic reimbursement grant from the Berwyn Development Corporation ($2,500). We hosted our first community painting day on July 5th, where dozens of residents helped us bring artist Liz Flores’s vision to life. The mural was unveiled on July 19th.
On October 4, BPAI led a celebration of our creative community with the inaugural Berwyn Lantern Parade through Proksa Park. Throughout the year, we partnered with various community groups to offer free lantern-making workshops for all ages. A complete list of our sponsors is on the project site linked above.
