By Community Alliance Staff
The “Lift Every Voice” mural project started June 13 on H Street, across from Chukchansi Park, where a group of local artists painted a mural under the theme “Black Lives Matter.”
Several more murals followed around downtown Fresno, some of them still in progress.
The project is organized by Dulce UpFront, a Fresno-based multimedia arts organization, led by Ome Lopez and Tony Carranza, and DJ Kay Rich.
“We started to design the project at the beginning of June,” said Lopez. “About 30 artists participated in this first part of the project. More murals will come up in July.”
The murals were created with neighbors and public support, and the themes were related to social issues, mainly regarding police brutality and social inequality.
The budget for this first part of the project is $15,000. “Half of that budget came from community donations,” said an enthusiastic Lopez. “We are working on redirecting money from the graffiti abatement to create a Mural Arts Program in Fresno.”
The City decided to redirect $100,000, an amount Lopez considers insufficient. Also, it is unknown at this point how the money will be distributed. “We are interested not just in creating art in our marginalized communities but to incorporate young artists to this project,” explained Lopez.
In the Valley, the art of muralism runs deep among Latino artists and there is a rich tradition of this artistic expression in many cities.
The organizers announced the four murals to be painted in July as follows:
- July 5, “Black Lives Matter” Phase 2, 756 H Street, 10 a.m.–2 p.m.
- July 11, “Fresno Tigers” West Coast Negro League Baseball Tribute, 1830 Van Ness Avenue, 10 a.m.–2 p.m.
- July 12, “Black Excellence,” 2383 South Fairview Avenue, 10 a.m.–2 p.m.
- July 18, “Walk With Your Ancestors,” 575 Divisadero Street, 10 a.m.–2 p.m.
For more information about the project, contact Dulce UpFront at dulceupfront@gmail.com.
