Every spring, the monarch butterfly travels 2,500 miles north from its winter home in Michoacán, Mexico across the United States in one of the most beautiful and mysterious migrations in nature.

Like the monarch butterflies he paints, renowned muralist Hector Duarte, 58, knows intimately about the struggles associated with that passage north. He hails from Michoacán and moved to Chicago 25 years ago, using the monarch as a metaphor for the journey.

Duarte’s murals are currently on display at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum as part of an exhibit called “Sanctuary: Flight of the Majestic Monarch.”

“Sanctuary” seeks to combine art and science to provide visitors a comprehensive picture of the impact of the monarch migration.

“Scientists have a way of seeing the world and can unveil things that are hidden, and art is the same thing,” said Alvaro Ramos, vice president of exhibitions at the museum. “Hector’s work reveals truth and then allows us to explore it.”

One mural at the exhibit shows a chain-link fence being transformed into dozens of colorful butterflies.

According to Duarte, the fence represents the borders and restrictions that separate families who live far away from each other. Just as the monarch transcends regional boundaries by flying from country to country, the metamorphosis from fence to butterflies symbolizes how separated loved ones can overcome obstacles in order to be with each other in their dreams.

Duarte creates murals that are aesthetically pleasing and bring up broader issues, like social justice, immigration and personal freedom.

“I think that one of the strengths is that on the surface, it’s beautiful and lures you in with its colors and composition, but if you stand in front of it for a while, and think about it, there are some strong messages there,” Cesáreo Moreno, the visual arts director and curator for the National Museum of Mexican Art, said Duarte’s works.

Moreno called Duarte “a true community artist.”

Duarte said that art should be about connecting people, not just about expressing one’s own emotions and struggles.

“I don’t like when art exists in a tower and [the artist] forgets everything and [doesn’t] relate it to people,” Duarte said.

Motivating others is a large part of what he enjoys about being involved in the art community. It’s an opportunity for him to pass on all he has learned.

With no previous experience, Duarte enrolled in a mural painting workshop at 8 years old when a teacher recommended it to him. From that day on, he has learned under some of Mexico’s greatest artists, including David Alfaro Siqueiros, one of the great Mexican muralists.

“A lot of young artists come and say they’d like to work with me, that they need to learn something. I say, ‘Okay, come, it’s no problem.’ I received all the information in art and I can give it all away,” Duarte said.

He co-founded the Julio Ruelas Print Workshop in Zacatecas, Mexico and the Mexican Printmaking Workshop in Chicago.

But Duarte does not want to limit this flow of information to only artists. While not everyone has to create art, each person can benefit from what he calls “opening the window to art.”

“If we have connection with some kind of art, we can be more human,” Duarte said.

He has completed more than 50 murals in Chicago since moving here in 1985. While his work has been exhibited at several shows and museums, he loves showcasing his art at one venue more than any other — the streets.

On his first visit to Chicago in 1978 for an art conference, Duarte was blown away when he saw murals out in the public for everyone to enjoy.

“In Mexico we have public art free in the official buildings, but here it’s in the streets,” he said. “It was new for me. I learned how to paint murals, but now I have the opportunity to put [that knowledge] into practice.”

And put it into practice he has. Duarte’s latest mural at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum is a work in progress.

On Thursdays this summer, visitors can watch and interact with him as he paints or children can create an art project with him on Fridays.

“Sanctuary” is on display at the museum until September 19.