Graffiti Murals Hope to Instill Community Pride and Build City Partnerships

Published on Monday, January 25, 2010
Last updated on 01:02PM, Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Detail of the "Four Guardians" mural

Detail of the "Four Guardians" mural

From now on motorists using 880 to enter the area will be greeted with a new Welcome to Oakland message in the form of two huge murals, about half the size of a football field, courtesy of a partnership between two prominent local aerosol artists and the Oakland Redevelopment Agency.

The murals, "Four Guardians", and "Done by the Forces of Nature", are the work of Oakland artists Estria and Refa1 respectively, and were created with the goal of raising community pride and reducing vandalism. 
Refa, a longtime community activist and educator, says he created his mural to inspire peace and bring a sense of balance to the city during stressful times, while Estria says he hopes "Four Guardians" will connect young people to the traditions and cultures of past generations. His mural incorporates elements from Chinese mythology and contemporary Hip Hop and at 22' x125', may be the largest piece of public art in the city.

For two months the artists worked with the neighboring community and youth from the Leadership Excellence training program, who created a third mural. All three pieces cover the back wall of the Thai Kee building at 2121 East 12th St and are visible for miles, especially from the highway. 

Photos courtesy of Sean Henry and Paloma Belara

The area around the Union Pacific train tracks has long been a popular destination for graffiti and for years held an international following with artists from around the world making pit stops in Oakland to add their names to the multicolored mix.

Officials hope that the project, which also included contributions from the Thai Kee Company, Union Pacific Railroad, and the East Bay Asian Youth Center, will usher in a new era of cooperation between graffiti artists and the city.

"These vibrant murals, highly visible from Interstate 880, will create a positive impression of Oakland for both visitors and residents" said the ORA's Daniel Seamans.

The city of Oakland spends an estimated $500,000 a year cleaning up graffiti, which includes mainly smaller "tags", hastily scribbled "throw ups" and gang signs, but also extends to larger pieces that have not received official sanctioning.

 

Take action: Do you have favorite artworks in the Town? Talk about them here.

About Kwan Booth
Kwan Booth is the co founder and Sr. Community Manager for Oakland Local. A West Oakland resident, Booth is also a creative writer, media consultant and cultural curator. He was recently a recipient of the Society of Professional Journalist’s Sigma Delta Chi award for a series on air quality and health issues in West Oakland. He writes at Boothism.com
Carolyn Rissanen commented at Mon, 25 Jan at 5:44pm

I don't know how long they have been there, but I have ALWAYS loved the giraffes under 580.