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A print of The Art Institute of Chicago by Jazmin Rodriguez. Credit: Jazmin Rodriguez<\/p>\nCHICAGO \u2014 As a Mexican-Puerto Rican woman who grew up in Humboldt Park, Chicago artist Jazmin Rodriguez honors her city and heritage through her work.<\/p>\n
While Rodriguez has been making art since she was a child \u2014 her mother would tell her that if she could draw on something, she should \u2014 she\u2019s best known for her \u201cChicago Forever\u201d series, which she launched in 2021.<\/p>\n
A print of The Art Institute of Chicago by Jazmin Rodriguez. Credit: Jazmin Rodriguez<\/p>\n
Rodriguez\u2019s series features digital prints that playfully depict city landmarks, her favorite neighborhood spots and Chicago emblems, which the 37-year-old artist makes her own with vibrant colors, whimsical doodles, collages and patterns. The series is largely inspired by the folk art from her grandmother\u2019s house growing up, flowers and pop culture, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was a teenager, I started going to shows a lot in Chicago \u2014 at Metro, Bottom Lounge. All these rock-and-roll and punk shows, and street teams were a really big thing then,\u201d Rodriguez said. \u201cI would start making my own posters and posting things online, and I really think that, that scene probably helped me with social media. That\u2019s when [my art] really started getting out there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rodriguez attended Columbia College Downtown for two years with the intention of studying art or something that could help her make it a career, like business or talent management, she said.<\/p>\n
After a few years, Rodriguez decided to go on tour with her friends who were in a band, helping them make and sell merchandise, she said. She ended up living in Oakland, California, in her early 20s, and she felt she was able to grow as a working artist there before finding her way back to Chicago.<\/p>\n
While Rodriguez said she didn\u2019t feel like she could find her footing as a working artist in Chicago when she was younger, things felt different when she moved back years later.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know if Chicago had changed or I also had changed. I had a different confidence inside, in the way that I was creating,\u201d she said. \u201cI think there was this kind of synergy between me and Chicago at that time. I was like, \u2018Let\u2019s go, I\u2019m not gonna stop.’\u201d<\/p>\n Rodriguez\u2019s artwork not only helped her discover and appreciate more of Chicago, but also connect with fellow neighbors, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s this love for the artwork, yes, but it\u2019s more this shared love for this city,\u201d Rodriguez said. \u201cIt\u2019s more inspiring than just drawing a business. It\u2019s like, what else can we do? How can we love our neighborhoods? \u2026 This really feels like another kind of community that I didn\u2019t feel before.\u201d<\/p>\n When the pandemic hit in 2020, Rodriguez was spending 10-12 hours per day on her art \u2014 and moved from drawing and painting to digital art, the medium she\u2019s now best known for, she said.<\/p>\n When Rodriguez\u2019s partner got a job that moved them to Oklahoma for six months in 2021, she began drawing her hometown, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cBy the time I got back [to Chicago], my dad passed, and he was like \u2026 the most Chicago guy,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd then I couldn\u2019t stop, because the reason I love this city so much is because my family came here, they made this home and they taught me and my cousins how to love something so much.<\/p>\n \u201cSo then it became like a love letter to my dad. Then it became like a love letter to my family. Then \u2026 it just became something bigger.\u201d<\/p>\n Rodriguez\u2019s prints feature a variety of iconic Chicago buildings and neighborhood gems, from cultural institutions like the Art Institute of Chicago and Chicago Theatre to neighborhood favorites like Roeser\u2019s Bakery and Rainbo Roller Rink to music venues like Schuba\u2019s and Metro.<\/p>\n Rodriguez said she\u2019s most inspired to draw places because of the stories behind them, whether they\u2019re her own memories or ones told to her by friends and neighbors.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of Chicago to draw,\u201d Rodriguez said. \u201cA huge part of what I\u2019m doing is telling this story. \u2026 Even when people ask me to draw their favorite restaurant, I ask, \u2018Can you tell me a memory there?\u2019 Because it\u2019ll inspire me to figure out what colors and what patterns and how I\u2019m gonna do it.\u201d<\/p>\n As Rodriguez achieves career goals she never expected \u2014 like having her artwork sold in the Chicago Architecture Center\u2019s shop<\/a> \u2014 she also wants to lean back into drawing and painting, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Chicago series is kind of like a return to self, a return to what you love, a return to those little, old, nostalgic memories,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd I want to go back to painting, because I really, obviously thrive in that. \u2026 I just hope that people are along for the ride to see that and that they get excited and look forward to when I share that.\u201d<\/p>\n Block Club tapped Rodriguez to create a special, limited-edition print to commemorate some of our favorite stories. You can buy it in our merch store here.<\/a> <\/p>\n People can learn more about Rodriguez, find her on social media and shop her artwork on her website<\/a>. <\/p>\n Listen to the Block Club Chicago podcast:<\/p>\n \t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Jazmin-Rodriguez-Art-1024x666.png\")
Chicago artist Jazmin Rodriguez began working as an artist full-time in 2020 after starting her \u201cChicago Forever\u201d series of city-inspired prints. Credit: Provided\/Jazmin Rodriguez<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Jazmin-Rodriguez-Art-copy-1024x666.png\")
Prints by Jazmin Rodriguez of Central Camera and Taquer\u00edas Atotonilco. Credit: Jazmin Rodriguez<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/2.jpg\")
This Chicago-themed print by Jazmin Rodriguez is available as part of Block Club\u2019s current 2025 Print Subscription Series. Credit: Jazmin Rodriguez<\/p>\n