Back Story — ART WITHOUT BOUNDARIES

AWB FOUNDER Walter L. Meyer Introduces “Up Against the Wall, LA!”

I have a very personal connection to this exhibition.

My eight years in Los Angeles—once called “The Mural Capital of the World”—opened my eyes to street art. And I fell in love. It began with a visit to the “Mural Mile” in Pacoima, a mostly Latino/a/x neighborhood in LA’s San Fernando Valley. That experience revealed the power murals possess to express a people’s hopes, dreams, and struggles. Several years later I arranged for two of these Pacoima muralists, Kristy Sandoval and Levi Ponce, to display their talents in the annual Mural Istanbul Festival. (You can read more about this in our PROJECTS section.)

Inevitably, this interest led me to meet a veritable force of nature: Isabel Rojas-Williams—art historian, activist, champion of LA’s murals and muralists, and former Executive Director of the Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles (MCLA).

“Up Against the Wall, LA!” represents a collaboration with Isabel and MCLA, which provided all of the mural images and descriptions. (In recognition of the international nature of our audience, some descriptions have been expanded a bit to provide additional context.)

For more information about the Conservancy, I invite you to visit www.themcla.org.

Isabel Rojas-Williams talks about LA’s African American murals

Murals expressed reactions to the social, economic, and political condition of minorities. Because of their accessibility, murals became popular in underserved communities; they offer opportunities for youth to express themselves as an alternative to traditional art on canvas. They promote pride of cultural identity and they empower communities.

Beginning in the 1940s, numerous murals were created by African Americans in Los Angeles, and a small fraction of them are reflected in this exhibition. Some of them no longer exist because they were destroyed or simply painted over. The Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles, as part of its mission to preserve Los Angeles’ mural history, will continue to research and document the rich history of artworks created by African Americans in Los Angeles from the 1940s to now.

Isabel stands in front of an image of renowned Mexican muralist David Alfaro Siqueiros at the Siqueiros Interpretive Center, home to Siqueiros’ 1932 América Tropical at Plaza Olvera, the birthplace of the City of Los Angeles. Isabel was one of the academic advisors for this historical mural’s $11 million restoration done in collaboration between the Getty Conservation Institute and the City of Los Angeles. (Photo: ©Oscar Castillo)

About Isabel Rojas-Williams

A native of Chile and resident of Los Angeles since 1973, Isabel became an immediate and passionate fan of the city’s mural movement. She is a longtime civic activist who served as Mayor Villaraigosa’s liaison to the Latino, the Asian, and the African American Heritage Committees. Isabel earned her graduate degree in art history from California State University Los Angeles, and joined the faculty there in 2007. Isabel had a major role in helping write the mural ordinance signed in 2013 by then Mayor Garcetti, which lifted the 2002 mural moratorium in Los Angeles, thus restoring muralists’ freedom of expression.

THIS PRESENTATION IS SOLELY FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES. THESE IMAGES MAY NOT BE REPRODUCED, COPIED, TRANSMITTED OR MANIPULATED WITHOUT THE WRITTEN PERMISSION OF THE AUTHOR.