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Visual artist to spend 10 days creating mural in Staunton

Through a partnership with The Chicago Community Foundation, the Macoupin Art Collective will be working to brighten Staunton.

Starting at the end of December, artist Cbabi Bayoc will be working to create a unique mural artwork in a matter of 10 days at 115 E. Main St.

Cbabi (pronounced Kuh-bob-bi) Bayoc is an internationally-known visual artist and illustrator residing in St. Louis. His subjects include family, children, music and works designed with lines and bold color.

Bayoc, whose birth name is Clifford Miskell Jr., adopted his name CBABI (Creative-Black-Artist-Battling-Ignorance) during his time at Grambling State University (1992-95). In 1997, a legal name change took place at the time of his marriage. Later, Cbabi would change his last name to BAYOC (Blessed-African-Youth-Of-Creativity) as something that could be shared with his future children.

Bayoc has worked with a variety of clients and families. Among notable clientele are Anheuser-Busch, Coca-Cola, New Line Cinema, St. Louis Post-Dispatch and MCA Records.

In 2012, Bayoc began his 365 Days with Dad series, a New Year’s resolution to paint a positive image of black fatherhood each day for the entire year. He called it both inspiring and exhausting. It resulted in the sharing of many stories of good experiences, no experience and hopeful experiences of Dads of all life stages. The project started a dialogue within the community about the importance of a strong foundation and support system for all children, no matter the age.

Today, he spends his time working on a variety of projects, including portraits, community murals, school murals, children’s book illustrations and is always up for a new challenge. He likes traveling to schools and talking with students about their own power in determining their destiny, using his own life experiences as lessons.

In addition to the mural in Staunton, Bayoc will be helping the MAC to reach local art teachers to share the process of creating murals, with the hope that they can create their own mural in their communities.

The Macoupin Art Collective is a nonprofit organization finishing its fourth year in operation. Its mission is to provide art to all.

For more information visit macart.org or follow on social media. To learn more about Cbabi Bayoc, visit cbabibayoc.com.

Photo courtesy Cbabi Bayoc

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