Uhills Community Public Art

 

“For centuries, artists have created work that explores, reflects on—and advocates for—social issues. Art offers powerful opportunities to express our common humanity, challenge assumptions, spark conversation, connect diverse people, inspire wonder, imagine new solutions, and promote action for positive change. Music, dance, the visual arts, film, theater, and writing can also inspire empathy, which is why they have always played a role in social justice movements; art shifts the way people think about the world. Especially for youth, doing art can be a powerful way to give voice to their passions.

— Jenny Friedman, Executive Director, Doing Good Together, “Use Art to Learn Empathy and Create Social Change”

ABOUT THE PROJECT

In the summer of 2020, University Hills community members Anne Marie Grill and Lilli LaBuen Gillen started a petition directed to the UC Irvine community and Irvine Campus Housing Authority (ICHA) to support the installation of a Black Lives Matter street mural to be painted on streets bordering the UCI campus and University Hills. The mural project allowed families and students to unite in solidarity and commit to social change with public art and civic engagement. Over 1,100 UCI faculty, staff, students, and University Hills residents signed that petition. They garnered support from all parts of the UCI community, including members of the Community Safety and Diversity Working Group, Black Faculty and Staff Association, Center for Black Cultures, Resources and Research, and members of the UCI End Racism Working Groups. 

In September 2020, the UHills Homeowner Representative Board (HRB) unanimously approved locating the project within the University Hills community. The Irvine Campus Housing Authority offered its endorsement and support. Volunteers and community stakeholders put out a call for artists, and after careful consideration, James Brooks and Omar Martinez were given the task of creating a mural design inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement. That initial design was shared at the Community Safety and Diversity Working Group (CSD) Juneteenth event in 2021. Community members offered feedback that informed the artists’ creative choices in the final design and placement of the mural.

Ultimately, the mural celebrates extraordinary people who have shaped history with their trailblazing, barrier-breaking contributions. Completing this mural marks a significant moment for our University Hills community to unite and strengthen our commitment to social change and the liberation and equal rights of all Black people.

Meet the Artists:

Omar Martinez

James Brooks

About the Mural:

The mural depicts nine important figures and symbols in Black history, representing achievements in different areas.

Mansa Musa: The legendary ruler of the vast West African empire of Mali was known for his wealth and generosity. He turned the kingdom of Mali into a sophisticated center of learning in the Islamic world.

Harriett Tubman: An American abolitionist who escaped slavery and rescued enslaved people using the network of antislavery activists and safe houses known collectively as the Underground Railroad.

Bessie Coleman: An early American civil aviator, she was the first Black woman and first Native American to hold a pilot license and the first Black person to earn an international pilot’s license.

Civil Rights Activist: Represents the hundreds of thousands of people who participated in the Civil Rights movement between 1942-1968.

Stevie Wonder: A Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter who “never thought of being blind or Black as a disadvantage.” His music and activism have been pivotal in U.S. and world events.

Marsha P. Johnson: One of the most prominent figures of the gay rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s in New York City and a central figure in the Stonewall uprising of 1969.

Mae Jemison: A doctor, engineer, and NASA astronaut, she became the first Black woman to travel into space when she served as a mission specialist aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1992.

Congressman John Lewis: An American politician and civil rights activist, he served in the United States House of Representatives for Georgia’s 5th congressional district from 1987 until he died in 2020.

Black Lives Matter Protestor: In 2020, protesters took to the streets in cities across the U.S. and the world—all with a similar message: Black lives matter.

More about the background:

The sound waves in the background represent the ripple effect of Black contributions to society and culture throughout history.

The flowers featured are “Morning Glories,” whose blooms open in daylight and close up in darkness, representing the ups and downs of Black liberation struggles.

The symbol on the Black Lives Matter protestor’s mask is an African Adinkra, a Ghanaian symbol representing hardiness and perseverance. In Akan culture, one of the traditional matrilineal cultures of Africa, it symbolizes strength, inspiring an individual to persevere through hardship.