Highland Park’s ‘You Are Not Alone’ mural dedication aligns with Bullying Awareness Month

A new Highland Park mural offers a message of encouragement to those who may be struggling, just in time for Bullying Awareness Month.

The mural’s installation is also a full-circle moment for Chris Falcon, who commissioned the artpiece and said he was once bullied at the school across the street.

Falcon attended Highland Park’s Indian Trail Elementary School. Years later, as he stared at the wall on which the mural was eventually painted, he realized it was kitty-corner to Indian Trail — what he called “the scene of the crime.” It was the “absolute perfect place” for the mural, he said.

Falcon and other community leaders gathered on Friday, Oct. 9, to dedicate the public mural, “You Are Not Alone,” outside the Art Center Highland Park, 1957 Sheridan Road, facing “almost exactly where the bullying took place,” Falcon said. He called the whole experience “an experiment in time travel.”  

At the event, Mayor Nancy Rotering issued a proclamation recognizing October as Bullying Awareness Month, while celebrating the mural.

“To have this wonderful message visible 24/7, 365 days a year, outside for people to see will hopefully be a reminder that we all have kindness in our hearts and an ability to change people’s lives by reaching out and caring for one another,” Rotering said. 

The City identified a need to address bullying in 2015 and took action through a citywide campaign. Rotering hopes the mural will “give people encouragement, but also spark conversations,” she said.

The Driving Force 

Falcon, a Highland Park native and founder of the nonprofit Take No Bullying, commissioned the mural in April. 

“This project was me finding a way to share the words that I needed to hear when I was bullied as a kid,” Falcon said. “Those words were, ‘You are not alone.’” 

He shared that he was bullied as a child, introducing him to a deep sense of loneliness. 

Falcon, who started his nonprofit in 2016, with the goal of mitigating the effects of bullying. He is also a motivational speaker, using his story to offer encouragement.

Now Falcon is focusing on messaging through public art installations, and he believes, with “too many things dividing us,” that the world currently needs more “unifying” messages.

To him, art transcends division and naturally brings people together. 

After seeing artist and designer Tanner Woodford’s work at Soho House Chicago, Falcon knew he had to meet him. He called his mural one of the “coolest” he’d ever seen. So, when it was time for Falcon to share his message, he knew who to call. 

When it came time to decide the location of the piece, James Lynch from The Art Center knew the right place, and looking back at his old school, Falcon agreed.

The Artist

Tanner Woodford, known for his optimistic and typographic murals in Chicago, was then ready to create the piece. 

To Woodford, Falcon came to him with a “lot of heart,” and so Woodford tried to create something that evoked the same emotion. 

He addressed that through his colors: yellow, a warm tone; brown that is grounding; and gold that shines in the sun. They were colors that “really resonated with the concept,” he said. Those colors were used on plywood.  

“The whole point of the piece is that when you walk up to it, you don’t see the message right away; you see the color and the form, and then the message gets you later,” he said. “And for me, that sort of feels like how people work as well. They will come in and support you, and the words come after the fact – when you finally read the message, it hits you in a different way and feels really meaningful.” 

For those who are victims of bullying, Woodford leaves them with a message that there are people who love them, including Falcon and the City of Highland Park, which he hopes offers support. 

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