Wills Glasspiegel and Alan Medina

Trazos (Traces) is a forthcoming projection by Chicago artists and filmmakers Alan Medina and Wills Glasspiegel. The projection expands upon the living history of public art in Pilsen, a neighborhood on the near southwest side of Chicago. Trazos amplifies and animates the murals, dances, and sounds of life in this historically Mexican-American neighborhood. Accompanying Trazos’ release in the summer of 2026, Medina and Glasspiegel will also share a series of short oral histories related to public art and its protagonists in Pilsen since the1960s.

Trazos’ directors Alan Medina and Wills Glasspiegel are friends and longtime Pilsen residents. Medina’s recent films include a portrait of Pilsen’s Pros Arts Studio for UIC Gallery 400, and a collaboration with jazz label International Anthem on the South Side of Chicago. Glasspiegel is an award-winning public artist and educator; his past films include Footnotes for Art on the Mart, and the permanent installation Skywalkers for O’Hare International Airport.

Dr. Wills Glasspiegel (willsglass.com) is a world-renowned filmmaker, multimedia artist, writer, educator and community organizer from Chicago. In 2023, he co-directed Skywalkers, a large-scale, permanent installation film for O’Hare International Airport. In 2021–22, Wills co-directed two projection films, Footnotes and Billiken, for Art on the Mart’s 2.5-acre projection system in downtown Chicago. The New York Times published a feature story on Footnotes, and Time Out Chicago recognized the film as “public art of the year.” Wills performs as a VJ (video DJ) and projection filmmaker, including recent live film installations for the NYC Winter Jazz Festival.

Alan Medina is an artist, filmmaker, and programmer interested in archival imaginaries, histories of labor, and alternative forms of self-organization within pedagogical frameworks. With a public practice of film programming and independent publishing, he has created autonomous learning and viewing spaces with an emphasis on community building. He is a co-founder of Inga Books and filmfront (Chicago, IL).

Wills Glasspiegel - @glasspiegel
Alan Medina - @amekimeki