Richmond & San Pablo Teens Unveil New Collaborative Murals
Eighteen teens from Richmond and San Pablo will unveil the two large murals they collaboratively designed and painted during a community celebration on Thursday, July 31 from 3:00 – 4:00 pm in the Marina Bay neighborhood of Richmond.
The murals are the culmination of a free eight-week summer class, part of the Richmond Art Center’s traveling Art in the Community programs, and sponsored by Topline, a business accelerator program which started in Richmond in June. The murals grace the entrance of its 40,000-square-foot building, which Topline’s founder, Allan Young, calls the biggest incubator co-working space in the East Bay.
“This mural project has been both a wonderful way to engage and build community and generate pride amongst the teens,” says Richard Ambrose, Richmond Art Center Executive Director. “The murals are a lasting piece of public art that the teens, the business community and the entire city can be proud of for years to come.”
Leading Bay Area muralists Fred Alvarado and Alex Wang worked closely with the teens over the course of sixteen classes and taught them traditional and urban (spray painting) techniques to create the 20 x 40 foot Richmond-themed mural.
“This project was a true community effort from the local business sponsor to the creative and engaged teens and the local muralists to the help of the City of Richmond,” says Ambrose. “The City of Richmond provided a pivotal role by generously providing their R-Transportation vans to safely deliver the students to the mural site each day.”
The public is invited to the Thursday, July 31 community celebration which begins at 3:00 pm with a thank you to the mural class sponsors, a recognition to the teens for their labor, creativity and commitment to the program. The students will also speak about the murals’ significance and design.
The Richmond Art Center’s Art in the Community Program brings much-needed arts education to sites across Richmond and neighboring cities. Last year, this program taught more than 450 students. The programs, which are free to the students, are funded through grants and donations from businesses, foundations, the City of Richmond and individuals. Learn more these traveling art programs.
Sketching mural designs onsite at Topline.
Teens up on the scaffolding painting the mural which is titled “Imaginative Community; Creative Solutions” at the Topline headquarters in Marina Bay.
