The Alta Visa School Mural, San Francisco. Designer and muralist: Kaitlin Fitzmahan Strange. Art Junket Volunteers: Yun Suh, Annelise Dohrer, Zoey Olbum.
Alta Vista School, San Francisco, California
In April, Kaitlin Strange went looking for a wall. A wall?! I might look for a canvas or a new lens. Searching for a wall… is that something like Winnie the Pooh a-hunting for a Woozle?
Having painted murals with Susan Cervantes at Precita Eyes in the Mission District of San Francisco, Kaitlin thinks taking a wall and turning it into public art is a good thing.
In the 1960s, Latinos in the Mission District in San Francisco, borrowed the Mexican mural tradition from Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco, and David Alfaro Siqueiros, and painted murals as part of the Chicano Mural Movement. Kaitlin wrote her Masters thesis on those murals.
In May of 2019, Kaitlin found her newest wall. Alta Vista School in South Bay, San Francisco welcomed Katie to design and lead a mural painting project. After approximately 30 hours of painting, 20 gallons of paint, and with the help of about 25 volunteers, Katie's mural was completed in 3 days.
Zoey Olbum, Art Junketeer volunteering.
“The Alta Vista lower school had been talking about painting a mural at the school for years, but it has never happened (though there is a small one in the garden). It was the community at the Art Junket that has made this possible -- from Maureen's Level Up theme and her encouragement to go BIG, to Katie's vision and execution, to Annelise and Zoey helping to paint and to Manya and Brian's volunteer efforts for fire survivors. It was a real team effort, which I value most and find most satisfying in the art of creation. We weathered through a little bit of drizzle, lots of strong winds, and many hours of repetitive movements. I'm exhausted but feel so grateful and satisfied to create meaningful work that will brighten so many children's days. Many parents who volunteered commented on how the mural really cheered them up upon seeing it. “ (Yun Suh, documentarian and member of the Art Junket West)
Words: Yun Suh and Maureen Fitzmahan
Designer of mural: Kaitlin Fitzmahan Strange
Photos: Kaitlin Strange and Yun Suh
Yun Suh is a member of Art Junket West and Katie is a co-founder of the Art Junket.