The San Rafael City Council has approved the proposed design for a social justice installation in Terra Linda.
The installation, titled “Regeneration,” will replace a controversial mural honoring Breonna Taylor, the Black woman fatally shot by police during a raid last year in Kentucky. A protester removed the mural, activists restored it, and the city removed it again — but initiated a community project for another piece.
The artwork, which the council backed unanimously at its meeting on Monday, will be installed during the fall in Arbor Park. The mural is intended to represent the concepts of liberty, freedom and justice.
Assistant City Manager Cristine Alilovich said the project evolved through regular meetings of the Youth in Arts organization, the San Rafael Social Justice Community Art Group and the Terra Linda Homeowners’ Association.
Orin Carpenter, an artist and Marin Catholic High School educator, collaborated on the piece with 10 youth artists. The youths received stipends.
The city and county each contributed grants of $10,000 for the project, and private donors gave another $1,125.
Damien Oyobio, a member of the San Rafael Social Justice Community Art Group, said the mural is “not just about police killing and police brutality … but also about the racist and misogynistic views people may have to bring it up to the surface.”
“To say, hey, we’re not about that … to create a spirit of togetherness,” Oyobio said.
Carpenter praised the young artists for their collaboration and their work to “allow ourselves to be open and vulnerable and transparent.”
The artwork contains figures such as Breonna Taylor and George Floyd and a symbol honoring the Miwok tribe. Small skeleton figures appear below towering flowers.
“The flowers to me really represent perseverance,” said Owen Martinez-Alejandre, one of the youth artists. “Because I wanted to add something symbolic and pure.”
“Skeleton figures are reminders we are all truly the same inside and that we are living, that we should strive to live harmoniously with nature,” he added.
Councilmember Rachel Kertz said the process from conception to proposed artwork happened exceptionally quickly.
“I think we broke new ground,” she said.
Councilmember Eli Hill agreed, adding, “I think it’s a microcosm of what we hope is the process going forward.”
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August 22, 2021 at 07:14AM
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San Rafael approves art for social justice installation - Marin Independent Journal
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