Community Mural Project
Created in 2025, this collaborate art project revitalizes a city area with student art
Design
At my high school, I gathered a group of students to propose a unity-themed mural design to the Redwood City Arts Commission for the Youth Mural Alley. During a time of division, our group aimed to create a work of art that embodies how diverse communities can fuel positive change. We spent a month brainstorming, revising, and sketching our idea, which culminated in a mock-up that we presented to the Arts Commission. Our final design incorporated classic symbols of the San Francisco Bay Area such as the Painted Ladies, Sutro Tower, and California poppies into a scene of a diverse community to depict how communities thrive through unity and collaboration.
2. Scaling Up
After our proposal was selected by the Redwood City Arts Commission in a competitive process, I collaborated with the commission, school administrators, and students to scale up our design including procuring supplies, coordinating delivery, and organizing painting sessions. We started scaling up the design by projecting our smaller mock-up on to our 4 foot by 8 foot mural board and tracing the design to map out what we needed to paint. Then, I scheduled painting sessions where students at my high school could collaborate on an elaborate art project that also helps the community! Over the course of almost 2 months, we scaled our design into a larger mural, which was then installed in Redwood City.
Impact
Our project was in collaboration with the Redwood City Arts Commission for the Youth Mural Alley, an arts installation in Redwood City that aims to transform a dark alleyway near the Hotel Sequoia with student art. Our mural simultaneously serves to revitalize a dismal space with its bright imagery while advocating for unity and progress. This project wouldn’t have been possible without the help of the Redwood City Arts Commission and our teacher advisor, Ms. Ulloa! Our mural can be viewed in Redwood City next to the Hotel Sequoia!