A Guide to City College Murals
By City College student Ecco B Crockett; updated December 2023
Chicanx mural in the cafe
2020, by Alicia Siu About the mural: The Chicanx mural located in the cafe of City College was designed and painted by artist Alicia Siu in 2020. It was commissioned by City College to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Chicanx studies department. The intention was to showcase the many years of student activism; students were involved in fighting to preserve the park in Barrio Logan, and many other protests through the years. The people pictured on the mural include City students and staff at protests of all sorts, including border issues, chicanx/black studies, gender-based violence, and indigenous tribes, and much more. About the artist: Alicia Siu is Nawat-Pipil/Maya from her mother's side from Siwatewakan, Santa Ana, El Salvador. Her family migrated to California 1998. She holds a B.A. in Studio Art and a Masters in Native American Studies, and has wanted to be a muralist since she was a child. More about Alicia Siu and her art can be found at http://www.aliciasiu.com. More about this mural can be found at https://sdcitytimes.com/campus-life/2022/03/15/city-college-chicana-o-studies-mural-nears-completion/. |
Lost in Translation
2022, 3B Collective About the mural: This mural was organized in 2022 by the 3B Collective. It is located on the west side of the AH building. Although the finished mural may seem purely abstract, there is lots of meaning buried in the blocks of color and line art. According to the artists, it is intended to reference “modernism in architecture and the cement face of the community building, Mayan traditions and modern Mexican and Indigenous voices, water protectors, and a tree of life or axis mundi, among other iconography.” On the top right, this mural includes the Mayan phrase "In Lak’ech Ala K’in," meaning “You are my other me. What I do onto you, I do onto myself.” About the artists: The 3B Collective is a collection of artists based in Los Angeles, and forms a community for Chicano, Latino, and Indigenous artists. For this particular mural, students of City College also had a chance to be a part of the mural making and design at the kick-off event that was held. More about the 3B Collective can be found at their website https://3bcollective.com/ |
Honoring our ancestors
2022, Kenneth Banks and students About the mural: This mural was created in spring of 2022 by Kenneth Banks, after Fine Arts professor Terri Hughes-Oelrich reached out to her former student with the intention to begin filling the AH building garage with art. Multiple current and former students worked together to paint the mural, which is inspired by Kumeyaay cave drawings. In a video interview about the mural, Banks says, the mural represents the cosmos; the underworld, the world where we live, and the stars and universes above us. The video can be found here: https://youtu.be/5j0E9w70GoE About the artist: Kenneth Banks grew up in Ramona and is a member of the Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel. He is an artist by trade, and makes a form of traditional Kumeyaay art called dream windows; his artworks can be found on ebay. He began taking classes at City College nearly a decade ago with the goal to reinvigorate his love for art. |
Audubon mural
2020 Lisa Chaddoc, Terri Hughes-Oelrich, and students About the Mural: This mural was created by the City College Audubon club in 2020. It represents 37 species of endangered birds in San Diego. Lisa Chaddock, a San Diego City College geography professor, and Terri Hughes-Oelrich, a City College art professor organized current and former students to design and paint the mural during the pandemic. The group met over zoom to brainstorm the design, then painted together outside once it was finalized. |
A building mural
1975, Roberto Sanchez About the Mural: This mural is by far the oldest mural at City College, painted by Roberto Sanchez in 1975. The project was headed by Richardo Almera, president of the MECHA club, and later dedicated to him after he was shot to death in San Jose. The concept for this mural was first introduced in 1972, but the project "laid in limbo in red-tape for a year" according to the 1976 Fortknightly article dedicated to the mural. Eventually, when Almera was elected president of the MECHA club, he and the then president of the college Dr. Repashy worked together to get the project started. The design for the mural was decided by a MECHA club sponsored contest. About the Artist: Information regarding this mural is hard to come by because of its age. If you know more about the artist Roberto Sanchez, please email me at [email protected] This description of the mural from 1975 was found in the City College library archives: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HL72gV1MI1ENXF2MKENwqg1T6eQq7voH/view?usp=sharing |
Chancellor Mural
2021, David Feucht About the mural: This mural located upon the A building is dedicated to the first woman and first African American to hold the position of Chancellor at City College; Constance Carroll. She served as president from 2004 to 2021 and upon retirement from that position she became president of the California Community College Baccalaureate Association. She was also appointed by President Biden to the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities, a committee designed to keep the president up to date on cultural policy and includes many prominent persons who have shown commitment to the arts and humanities. Before her retirement, however, Constance Carroll made waves in many community colleges; she was president of San Diego Mesa College, Saddleback College, and Indian Valley Colleges in addition to San Diego City College. She fought to provide a college education for disadvantaged communities, and among her many achievements are the San Diego Promise program and the Baccalaureate Pilot Program, two revolutionary programs for San Diego community colleges. More about the former Chancellor can be found at https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/phenomenal-women-series/story/2021-11-26/constance-m-carroll-a-fierce-advocate-for-california-community-college-students About the artist: The artist, David Feucht, was difficult to locate on the internet, but more of his art can be found on his instagram https://www.instagram.com/gane_one/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA== |