Skatepark murals meant to inspire hope for those in mental crisis proposed for Naperville park

Chicago Tribune

06-05-2025

A public art project devised to inspire hope and foster connection in the face of mental health crises is going to the Naperville Park Board this week for final approval.
Max's Mission, a local nonprofit dedicated to providing support for suicide loss survivors, wants to erect four new murals at Naperville's Centennial Park. A resolution accepting the murals and their subsequent installation is on the agenda for the park board's meeting Thursday.
Max's Mission was established a few years ago in honor of Max Wijangco, a Naperville resident who died at 15 by suicide in March 2022. The nonprofit was born out of Jill Wijangco, Max's mother, and her family feeling alone in their loss, Jill Wijangco said in an interview last year. With Max's Mission, the Wijangco family is working to change that — in a number of ways.
The nonprofit runs a monthly support group for anyone who has lost someone they know to suicide and delivers baskets to those that are newly bereaved by a suicide loss. Max's Mission also runs an ongoing online project called 'Say Their Name,' where survivors of suicide loss send photos and information about their deceased loved ones for the organization to post on its social media accounts.
The nonprofit's mural project is another mission-driven initiative.
As proposed, the murals would be placed adjacent to the Rothermel Family Skate Facility at Centennial Park, an ode to Max Wijangco being an avid skateboarder. Two concrete structures would form the base of the artwork, with one mural going on each side of the structures for a total of four.
The venture is two years in the making, according to Julie Nguyen, a board member for Max's Mission who met the Wijangco family when her son attended preschool with Max. Nguyen, of Lisle, said the project stemmed from Jill Wijangco 'wanting to have some sort of visible memorial to (Max) near one of the skate parks in Naperville.'
The organization reached out to a handful of local muralists for the project but ultimately opted to work with Naperville artist Peter Thaddeus, Nguyen said. The mural designs are varied and vibrant but possess a few throughlines.
Green ribbon, the international symbol for mental health awareness, can be seen through all four designs. Woven into the artwork are are also the numbers '988' — the nation's three-digit metal health crisis hotline — and a semicolon, a symbol for suicide prevention that signifies the choice to pause not stop, Nguyen said.
Faces are also intentionally left out of the murals, as a way of allowing onlookers to see themselves in the artwork, according to Nguyen.
'Maybe they are Max, maybe they're you, maybe they're a friend,' she said. 'The ambiguity of these figures is really intentional so everyone can kind of connect with them.'
Murals were likewise designed with an eye for diversity, Nguyen said.
'Many of the figures that are painted in the murals represent different genders, different ethnic backgrounds, different skin tones,' she said. 'We thought, especially at this moment, viewers would appreciate this message of tolerance, inclusion, and connection. … (And) that applies not only to the skating community, which certainly are sort of our target audience, but anyone walking along the Naperville Riverwalk at Centennial Beach that will be able to access these messages and these images.
'I think they're really, really hopeful and really — hopefully — really inspiring.'
Final mural designs can be seen at https://bit.ly/3SkkeVE.
Park district staff have been in conversations with Max's Mission about the mural project for just over a year, according to Eric Shutes, the district's director of planning. The idea struck a chord with the district's focus on health and wellness, Shutes said.
'When it was initially provided to us, we thought it was just in really good alignment … with the Naperville Park District,' he said.
At the park board's April 24 meeting, Shutes brought the matter to members for discussion.
'Ever since the idea was first brought to us, I started following Max's Mission on social media,' commissioner Leslie Ruffing said last month. 'I just (think) what they do for the community and for mental health awareness and suicide is so important. It's so strongly aligned with our mission, vision and values.'
As part of his report to the board, Shutes said Max's Mission was $6,200 short of the project's total estimated $41,600 cost and that the nonprofit had asked if the district would be open to contributing the remaining cost.
The $6,200 payment is included in the resolution up for approval this week.
Other funding sources include the DuPage Foundation's JCS Arts, Health and Education Fund and the city of Naperville's Special Events and Community Arts (SECA) grant fund. Aurora-based MM Peters Construction Inc. would also be donating $5,000 in labor costs.
Should the board OK the project, construction could start as early as this summer, with an expected completion by the end of the year.
With the board's approval, staff would also work in tandem with Max's Mission to organize a dedication ceremony for the project.