Cities across the country are engaging in a national conversation to reassess artworks from past eras that don’t reflect our current values of racial justice, equity and inclusion. In Santa Monica, our two City Hall murals have become the focus of such discussions. A City Council initiative to recontextualize them – to add interpretive and educational information plus new artwork by Native Americans who appear in a mural – is now underway.
In the spirit of this initiative, the Conservancy is hosting a free webinar featuring three speakers to discuss the murals’ cultural and historical themes and help us understand their context and meanings.
Will South, art historian and biographer of artist Stanton Macdonald-Wright, will present the artist who created the murals and directed the Southern California Works Progress Administration, which our City Hall exemplifies.
Kim Morales Johnson, Tongva tribal leader and Board member of the Gabrieliño Tongva Springs Foundation, will tell the story of her people, who are shown in the History mural at the sacred springs, which inspired the naming of our City.
Sharon Reyes, descendant of the Marquez and Reyes families who owned Rancho Boca de Santa Monica, will speak to the difficult and tumultuous history that is woven into the History mural.
Register for The City Hall Murals today! The Zoom link will be included in your registration confirmation.
