Evanston Garage Door Gallery

Evanston Garage Door Gallery.scoutronic (atlas obscura user)

Original murals by artist TeresaParod have transformed a residential alley inEvanston,Illinoisinto a vibrant drive-through gallery. The artist and educator has traveled widely and reimagines elements from a range of traditions in her paintings, collages, and textiles.

Parod uses garage doors as large-scale canvases, taking advantage of both the corrugated and flat textures. Her projects began after she painted a mural on her own garage door, and neighbors then asked her to paint their doors, too.

Parod has exhibited throughout theUnited Statesand created public art including the Mardi Gras Bead Mosaic inNew Orleans; the Wesley Kramer Memorial Mural in Evanston, Illinois, and an outdoor mosaic in Fusterlandia, a village nearHavana,Cuba, where she will return in March 2020.

Entire communities have assisted in these works, which Parod often makes at her own expense and with donated materials. The projects transform neighborhoods with light, color, and creative energy.

Know Before You Go

The Evanston garage-door murals by Teresa Parod are located in the 1400 alleys between Thayer/Isabella and Thayer/Park. Visitors can drive through and are welcome to take photos and post with the hashtag #TeresaParodPublicArt.