For graffiti artist and teacher Elizabeth “Bel” Reyes, her art has always been personal. Growing up in Archer Heights, Reyes found comfort and confidence in art classes that provided an outlet for her creativity. At the same time, she was grieving the loss of her older brother, who died at 14 in a car accident.
In eight grade, she found her brother’s journals with his writings and tags — and she discovered graffiti. That discovery fueled her imagination, and when she headed to Curie High School, she started to hang out with others doing graffiti, like her friend Mariel, and spending a lot of time in Little Village. “That’s where my story with Little Village begins,” says Reyes.
