Barrio Logan in San Diego. Photo: Taylor Sanderson
SAN DIEGO–Known for its hand-painted murals of historic significance, the community of Barrio Logan has undertaken a new public art project.
Local youth and community residents from Barrio Logan and surrounding communities have teamed up with a local artist, the Chicano Park Steering Committee and Environmental Health Coalition (EHC) to bring to life a community mural in Chicano Park. The community describes the soon-to-be murale design as an empowering memoir of past visionaries mixed with its vision for the future of the neighborhood.
“Existing Chicano Park murals remind us that we live in a place of cultural and historical significance,” says EHC Barrio Logan Community Organizer Jorge Gonzalez. “Keeping that in our hearts, the community feels ready to add another mural – one that represents a healthy chapter for Barrio Logan and our people who live here.”
Initial discussions of a student-led, youth-inspired mural began at community meetings in the fall of 2016. EHC convened neighborhood artist Alicia Maria Siu and students from the Barrio Logan College Institute (BLCI) to collaborate and bring the project to life. At a series of local workshops, more than 70 neighbors contributed ideas to guide the unfolding mural concept, and after more than a year of collaboration, the Chicano Park Steering Committee approved the design on Sunday, October 29. With this approval, the team of local artists can now begin blending the new concept with the unfinished, existing mural that currently resides on the wall.
“We want a tall, proud and community-curated mural that inspires the next generation in Barrio Logan to continue the legacy of those that fought for a healthy neighborhood before us,” said Panchito Martinez, resident of Barrio Logan, BLCI student and mural participant. “Art has always been our community’s way of healing, and it’s also our way to capture our community’s vision for the future.”
The mural will come to life next to the Chicano Park Herb Garden at 2060 Logan Avenue in the spring of 2018. Funding for the mural is provided by the Barrio Logan Maintenance Assessment District, Barrio Logan College Institute, City of San Diego Community Projects, Programs, and Services and The San Diego County Childhood Obesity Initiative.
