Internationally-known visual artist and illustrator Cbabi Bayoc returned to The Walls Off Washington this week to repair damaged sections of his large-scale mural titled “Change is Gonna Come.” Bayoc created the vibrant mural to honor the legacy of blues music in St. Louis, while celebrating the rich history of the neighborhood.
It acknowledges the issue of gentrification, as neighborhoods like historic Mill Creek Valley, once considered ‘home,’ were transformed or developed for other uses, displacing existing residents who faced rising costs and loss of housing. Two buildings spared from the wrecking ball by KAF and transformed into The Key, opening next month, are some of the last remaining buildings of the neighborhood.
“Mill Creek and other communities have been displaced for all these wonderful places we love to hang out now. If you think about when that happened and the age those people had been as kids, now as adults they are in their 70s and 80s. That’s why the older gentleman sitting there is the holder of the stories,” Bayoc says of the mural’s central figure. “You can’t get it all from the wall, the only way you’re going to get it is from having conversations and talking about it. That’s why he’s the main character. The suit and tie represents businesses that were happening. It wasn’t just a degenerating community. This happens all over the country.”
To see Bayoc’s mural, as well as more than 30 additional murals by renowned artists, begin a tour of The Walls Off Washington in The Market at The Walls, located at 3333 Washington Ave. from 12-8 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday.
