Murals of La Jolla was conceived in 2010 as a means to enhance the civic character of the community by commissioning public art projects throughout La Jolla. The project's innovative approach expands the definition of the traditional public mural structure by reimagining how to utilize private property as an opportune space for public art. The unique print-based process opens up the possibility of working with a larger sector of multi-disciplinary artists, creating an outdoor exhibition of works from many notable local, national and international artists.
An Art Advisory Committee, composed of the heads of major visual arts organizations within La Jolla, commissions select artists to intervene on specific walls of privately owned buildings, taking into consideration the specific size, location, and visibility of each site. The first two artworks by Roy McMakin and Kim MacConnel were painted directly on their sites. The majority of the subsequent artworks have been printed on vinyl and installed on billboard-like structures. Each work is on view for a minimum of two years and continues to be generously funded by private donations. There are currently 16 murals on view, and the project has commissioned 47 artworks to date. It is a project of the Athenaeum initiated by the La Jolla Community Foundation.
“Murals of La Jolla highlights the potential to make art more accessible to everyone and to enliven common public spaces. Thirteen years ago, when Murals of La Jolla began its collaborations with art professionals, private donors, and property owners, the outstanding public art program began to introduce new views and enter into a lively visual conversation. Throughout the village, formerly blank exterior walls were transformed into outdoor sites for remarkable temporary exhibitions accessible at all hours to any passerby. As Simon Schama, the prolific historian and exuberant observer, has declared, “Art has the power of surprise… One of the things that art does is it shakes you out of your routine and makes you look at the world afresh.” Encountering these murals—art that might peek out over a building, face into an alley, or loom outside a glass-walled dining room—is an especially exhilarating surprise offering views beyond the ordinary and stirring glimpses into different ideas” as described by Susan Morgan, arts writer.
Murals of La Jolla continues to thrive and grow as an innovative reframing of a public arts practice, as articulated by G. James Daichendt of the San Diego Union Tribune. “Public art is an invitation to think about our surroundings and how they impact us. There are a lot of people and things vying for our attention, but Murals of La Jolla is a kind of respite: an alternative to the visual clutter that begs for deep questions and close observation. This time spent thinking about the city, its aesthetics, and how these images complement or contradict the environment makes for a rich and rewarding experience that will continue to evolve as Murals of La Jolla begins its second decade.”
To date, new works by Amy Adler, Terry Allen, Eleanor Antin, John Baldessari, Math Bass, Mel Bochner, Mark Bradford, Kelsey Brookes, Sandra Cinto, Rosson Crow, Einar and Jamex de La Torre, Roman de Salvo, June Edmonds, Kota Ezawa, Gajin Fujita, Anya Gallaccio, Chitra Ganesh, Robert Ginder, Raul Guerrero, Ann Hamilton, Steven Hull, Robert Irwin/Philipp Scholz Rittermann, Isaac Julien, Nina Katchadourian, Alex Katz, Victoria Fu / Byron Kim, Jean Lowe, Kim MacConnel, Heather Gwen Martin, Michael Mercil, Beatriz Milhazes, Ryan McGinness, Roy McMakin, Richard Allen Morris, Catherine Opie, Julian Opie, Marcos Ramirez ERRE, Gabriella Sanchez, Lorenzo Hurtado Segovia, Rex Southwick, Fred Tomaselli, Monique van Genderen, William Wegman, and Gail Werner have been installed throughout La Jolla.