Richmond artists unveil all-local Latino mural in the Fan
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Richmonder George Arturo thinks he just organized the city's first all-local, all-Latino collaboration on a mural — and he's happy to be proven wrong.
Why it matters: Whether it's the first or not, the Fan District mural unveiled this week highlights what Arturo says he's noticed since moving here in 2012: Latino artists are rarely represented in the city's most visible public art projects.
The big picture: Arturo, the Dominican lead artist who also painted the John Mitchell Jr. mural on Broad Street, assembled a team back in October of Richmond-based artists with roots in Venezuela, El Salvador and Mexico.
- They include Monolith, Mars, and Sol, who is adding her section later.
- Together, they've transformed the privately owned wall tucked in the alleyway behind the old Aquarian shop at 2512 W. Main St. into a sprawling, space-themed piece.
Zoom in: The community-funded mural features planets, aliens and a distant Earth-like world, which Arturo said reflects feeling out of place and far from home.
- The artists embraced an alien motif as a play on the term often used in immigration debates.
- And a Mexican flag hangs on the moon as a symbol of pride.
The bottom line: "We're not trying to say this is for us and not you," Arturo told Axios.
- "It shows that we're here. We're capable of taking up space."