MEET OUR MURALISTS
CHASE HUNTER
Chase Hunter has come a long way from the gravel roads of Vanndale, Arkansas and is now a Kansas City based multidisciplinary artist with a passion for painting large public murals. His passion for painting murals came to light when he got lost on a long walk and found himself through the realization "painting is my contribution to the greater good of society." He has never looked back since. His work can be seen all the way from Las Vegas to Puerto Rico. His art has featured in a Vice documentary as well as a PBS special. He obtained his Bachelor's Degree of Fine Art, with a concentration in drawing and painting, from Memphis College of Art in 2015.
DAVID BONILLA
David Bonilla is a self taught artist from Los Angeles, California. Growing up in the inner city David was inspired by street art, graffiti and aerosol art. He has worked with a variety of mediums such as oils, acrylics, enamels, air brush, and spray paint. David is the newest addition to The Arts Dept and is a great compliment to our team.
WHITNEY KERR III
Whitney is a Kansas City native who accepted a scholarship and received his BFA with an emphasis in Painting from Memphis College of Art. Whitney is currently fulfilling his lifelong dream of becoming a professional muralist. In his 7-year career, Whitney has painted murals in a number of cities across the United States, and multiple countries abroad.
whitneykerrpaints@gmail.com
MIKE TRUJILLO
Mike was born and raised in Los Angeles but has lived in Kansas City, MO the last few years. He is a traditional Sign Painter and studied for two years at Los Angeles Trade Technical College in Sign Painting/Sign Graphic. He spent another two years in the Art Institute of Los Angeles for Animation and Graphic Design. Mike worked for a few of the top mural advertisement companies in LA for over 5 years. His role was helping to paint large scale advertisements for a variety of big name brands. Mike has been painting murals for 10 years now. After meeting Whitney, he decided to move to Kansas City to expand his art career and to help start The Arts Dept.
ELLIOTT MCANANY
A Lifetime Kansas City resident, Elliott has been a full time artist for the last 7 years after quitting his career in construction. His primary medium is paint on glass, where he recreates photographs, old and new, into his own style. Off of the canvas Elliott is behind the camera creating videos of anything and everything, large & small.
JEREMY BENA
Jeremy Bena was born in Norfolk, Virginia, and grew up in St. Joseph, Missouri. A graduate of the Art School at UMKC, Jeremy studied sculpture and painting. Jeremy worked alongside The Arts Dept on over a dozen projects and was involved in the Kansas City Art scene. He had a studio at the Bunker Center for the Arts, which features two large-scale murals painted by himself on the exterior of the building. Jeremy was a huge part of building The Arts Dept. and was a dear friend to all of us and many others.
Jeremy passed away on November 28th, 2021. Jeremy was a brilliant mind, friend, artist, lover, and human being. He was innovative in his paint handling process, original in his execution and inspiring to the Kansas City Art Community. He is missed dearly and with each new project we’re blessed to work on we hold his memory close. We love you, BIG WORM!