Street artist Lajuana Lampkins could have set up shop in any number of Chicago’s neighborhoods, but there was something about Wicker Park that made an impression.
Lampkins’ son, Sir Gerald Akbar, even warned his mother, then in her 50s, that the bustling area might be too overwhelming.
But Lampkins pressed on.
“It was something about that place that was magical,” said Akbar, a 44-year-old Jefferson Park resident and street artist who goes by the name Ghetto Art. “What brought her there was the diversity, the energy, the lights, the entertainment, the bars, the music venues and the beautiful restaurants. And then seeing every walk of life and how packed it was; it made her feel youthful.”
For years, Lampkins was a vibrant, beloved personality in the area, selling scores of whimsical — and often risqué — drawings and paintings. Also a writer and activist, she persevered through hardships and built a new life for herself after her 30-year incarceration for a murder she said she didn’t commit.
She died Feb. 26 of heart failure. She was 67.
Akbar said his mother was “devastated” by her imprisonment, following a confession she said she was coerced into by Chicago police.
“But that did not stop her from fighting for her innocence until the day she died, fighting for her family, and fighting to do something in her life that she always dreamed of doing, which was being a working artist,” he said.
Using markers, pens or paint, Lampkins created street scenes, live portraits of community members, and illustrations of celebrities and politicians. Fond of wearing colorful outfits, makeup and jewelry, Lampkins’ appearance was as vivid as her art. She was often found selling her work outside or in bars and restaurants, including Dimo’s Pizza, Estelle’s, DSTRKT, Stan’s Donuts and The Revel Room.
“She was the entertainer of their businesses,” Akbar said. “They loved her. And I used to be so jealous. I was like, ‘I wish I could walk up in there and just post up.’”
Lampkins also showed her work in local galleries, including VSG Contemporary in West Town.
Among Lampkins’ diverse group of customers were Wicker Park residents Daniel X. O’Neil, 58, and his wife, Shawn-Laree, 61.
“She just really knew how to connect with people,” Shawn-Laree said. “She was so funny and I think her humor was a way to pull people in. And then her genuineness.”
The couple has documented Lampkins’ methods and cataloged her work on their “Arte Agora” website, named for a term they use to describe outsider art and street art.
They said self-taught artists like Lampkins are often overlooked by art institutions.
“Lajuana deserves that same kind of elevation,” Shawn-Laree said.
Lampkins developed her art skills while serving time in the now-closed Dwight Correctional Center from 1982 to 2012. She did her best to maintain a relationship with Akbar and his siblings, Prince Bantu Alim Akbar and Lamiea Lampkins Kerschbaum.
But in 2010, Prince, a poet known as Jus Rhymz, was shot and killed by Calumet City police, who reported that he attacked two officers. The family said the killing was unwarranted, and that Prince, 32, was unarmed and struggling with mental illness.
Sir Gerald Akbar credits both family and the local community with helping his mother deal with the tragedy.
“If it wasn’t for the city of Chicago and all the people that loved her, my mother could have never survived such pain,” he said.
In addition to defending her innocence, Lampkins also advocated for her deceased son, and helped publish a collection of his poems and essays in 2022.
Lampkins’ life is captured in a forthcoming documentary, “My Mother is an Artist,” by director and co-producer Maya Horton and co-producer Julia Hunter. The women plan to screen the film at Intuit Art Museum this summer.
“She was a really amazing person,” said Horton, 30, of Rogers Park, who also works for WTTW. “She really was a fearless person and somebody to be admired, and her biggest wish was to connect with and inspire young people through art.”
Reflecting on the memory of his mother, Akbar shared one of her adages: “Yesterday’s news does not sell today’s paper in your life.”
“She always believed everybody deserves second chances and everybody deserves forgiveness,” he said. “If you didn’t love who you were yesterday, be a better person the next day.”
In addition to her children, Lampkins is survived by several brothers and sisters.
Services have been held.