A collection of murals throughout downtown Long Beach was a project done by local businesses and associations in the city. As a way to bring positive messages and healing after looting took place earlier this year.
What began as a peaceful protest against long-standing police brutality sparked by the killing of George Floyd turned into a rampage for businesses throughout the city, particularly in downtown Long Beach.
Community members came together to help clean up the debris left on the streets the next day.
Artists immediately began working on the murals, according to Efren Luna that works with the Cultural Alliance for Long Beach.
Local nonprofits and donors offered a nominal stipend to artists for painting the boarded windows. Some of the boards were provided by the police department, according to some of the murals curators.
According to Luna, the murals are messages of hope, peace, Black Lives Matter, and unity.
The artists were mostly locals who saw the call to artists on social media channels. Many of the artists who worked on the projects had experience working onboarded murals.
Ronnie de Leon and Ashley Orellano worked on curating projects for the Bixby Knolls Business Association by coordinating with local artists along with Luna and other members of the Cultural Alliance.
Many of the art pieces were sketched by professional artists with lots of input from community members who showed up to volunteer.
According to Luna, one mural inspired a person who was walking by and wrote a poem about the piece. The poem was later painted on the mural.
Some of the paintings reflected the businesses boarded up. A store that sold barber supplies painted grooming products on their mural.
Others feature graffiti-style words and messages related to the themes of justice.
One mural honored victims of homicide, others highlighted the need for justice. Others were about community and embracing diversity.
An artist who goes by the name of Who’s Vlad painted a series of murals outside of the Bank of America on Long Beach Blvd.
The murals which are facing the sunny side of the building are rich in color and feature messages of love, Black family, and strong femininity. The murals draw in the viewer by incorporating the landscaping of the building into the piece.
Under a shaded area of the building is a more disturbing piece that has images of people behind cages. The shadowy figures appear to be pleading behind bars and feature words calling for their release in various languages.
It can be inferred that the images are meant to show solidarity between the struggle Black Americans face with those who are incarcerated for their immigration status. The figures are various shades of skin hues and wear the flags of countries where immigrants are being detained in camps or other forms of incarceration.
The pieces seem to evoke emotions in those who view them. For many of the artists, it was a chance to demonstrate the power that art has to change spaces by bringing a community together.
Anna Schoedorfer-McBride, who helped work on a few murals said, “It was an opportunity for the community to show what we stand for.”
Some murals have been graffitied over, one particular incident happened to a George Floyd mural outside of the Verde Salon on 4th St. The owners of the shop wanted to paint a mural in honor of Floyd as a recognition of his death at the hands of police.
The piece, which was painted by Kenny McBride, was damaged badly. Public outcry and camera footage identified the perpetrator who damaged the mural.
McBride has since redone that piece and has worked on additional Floyd murals and other post looting murals on small businesses.
To Luna, this experience demonstrated the importance of investing in the local artists’ community.
“There is a big difference between the local art scene and other projects that are part of the gentrification of downtown. This was from the heart. It was a community effort,” McBride said.
Organizations involved in putting the murals project together include the Downtown Long Beach Associates, Goodwill Solac, and the Cultural Alliance of Long Beach.
Artists who worked on the murals include:
Judy Kepes, Sue Gilmore, Manny Verduzco, Jay Jenkins, Efren Luna, Charlotte Medina, Maria Guadalupe, Ashley Elliott, Marquis Cook, Asael Ramos, Rhiannon Lopez.
Isaac Frisk, Raul Vazquez, Ivan Rodriguez, McBride Arts, Who’s Vlad, Rivvl_Collective, Bodeck Hernandez, Mike Petow, Alepsis Hernandez, Francesca Quintano.
Hannah Nance, Isabelle Marshall, Sam Spina, Mecca Robinson, Jonathan Robinzuela, Shane Jessup, Steve Martinez, Megan Boterenbrood, Karina Vasquez.
Omar Martinez, Benji Escobar, Nick Sawyers, Richard Chavando, Derrick Diza, Eddie Avalos, Alejandro Moro, Denise Teizeria-Pinto, Eric Michael.
Arnold Randall, Maria Fryer, Erica Elena, Juan Onwon, Francisco Reyes Jr., and others.
A full list of participants was not available.