Mural Unveiling

Last Saturday, the Westlake/MacArthur Park community came together at the MacArthur Park Primary Center for the unveiling of a nine-month mural project. This mural, which was first a Sociology class project, “depicts the youth’s vision of their community in ten years.”

The mural, titled: “Our Vision for Westlake/MacArthur Park 2020,” is now engraved for years to come at this school. Being Empowered Advocates for Street Transformation (BEAST), a student led organization, took initiative of this project; along with support from community organizations and community members. The purpose of the mural “is to bring life and beautification” to the MacArthur Park area; as well as to “inspire [community residents] to take ownership of their community.”

Deborah Henry, Principal of the MacArthur Park Primary Center, offered the wall on 7th Street - which faces MacArthur Park - as the ideal location for this mural. Ms. Henry has been a strong supporter of this project since the moment Daniel French, Community Organizer for World Vision, presented a photograph of the vision these students had. Ms. Henry believed that the photograph made a “great mural.”

BEAST spearheaded almost every aspect of this mural. From presenting the photograph to the MacArthur Park Neighborhood Council to the fundraising that funded the whole project. The total cost of the project was approximately about $3,000.

Karina Perez, President of the PULSE Club at Miguel Contreras, got her club involved with the project because she herself has experience in spearheading a mural. She feels that it nice to see that BEAST’s mural is finally up. She believes that as youth, it is their role to empower other youth in the community to become advocates of change because the community still needs its improvements.

At Saturday’s mural block party and unveiling, various community members attended. Councilmember Ed Reyes gave a message of the community’s role in making the vision for 2020 a reality; he also awarded a City of LA Certificate of Appreciation to every individual who participated in the project. The unveiling also had a presence of a Tongva - Native American people who inhabited areas of Los Angeles, including MacArthur Park - as well as John ‘Zender’ Estrada -the muralist, the Los Angeles School of Global Studies Principal - Felipe Velez; Janitizia Villalobos - Youth Organizer for CARECEN; PULSE Club members, staff from the World Vision Storehouse, members from the SOY- a community youth group coalition; as well as representatives of the MacArthur Park Teen Club, Levitt Pavilion MacArthur Park, CRA/LA, the MacArthur Park Neighborhood Council, the Downtown LA Youth & Cultural Center, Urban Empowerment, YESSS, and CCNP. Performances from the Primary Center students, CCNP Jump Dancers, and Las Cafeteras also took place.

THE MURAL