Changemaker Mural Project

The Awesome Axolotls have been working very hard to share their ideas about a new changemaker-themed mural on campus. They began by learning about some local changemakers, including the history of desegregation in Lemon Grove schools. Students started working in groups to identify and research some local organizations doing amazing work.

Some of the organizations included:

• I Love A Clean San Diego

• Ample Harvest

• San Diego Food System Alliance

• San Diego Humane Society

• Alley Cat

• American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

Students took a field trip to Chicano Park to learn about the history of the changemakers who established the park, learn about the themes of the murals, meet one of the original muralists, and ask questions about the process of creating murals in the park. The students also talked with Rigo, a member of the Chicano Park Steering Committee, to ask follow up questions such as:

1. Who decides what gets painted on the murals?

2. How do you narrow down ideas?

3. How long does it take to paint a mural? How did so many murals gets painted in such a short time?

4. Who can make a proposal for a mural? Just painters? Or others?

Students reflected on their experience. We shared things that were surprising, interesting, and inspiring. Some of the common reflections were:

• it was surprising that Chicano Park is only 50 years old

• it was surprising that they are still making new murals

• it was surprising that one of the original muralists was still painting after surviving COVID-19

• it was surprising how old some of the murals were

• it was interesting that they made tiny versions of the the murals before painting them

• it was interesting that the murals were based on real stories

• it was inspiring to meet the founders

• it was inspiring to learn how Chicano Park was fought for and built after 12 days

We broke into committees that we formed together: Theme, Design, and Fundraising and Supplies

The theme committee talked about the organizations the class had researched, and decided on two main focuses to present: Ample Harvest and I Love A Clean San Diego. They talked about how these organizations represented themes of hunger, gardening, food, and protecting the environment, animals, and people.

The theme committee worked hard to make posters, create, practice, and give a presentation so that our class could vote! A member of the theme committee interviewed other teachers and students about the mural.

Our class voted on the themes of connecting with and protecting the environment, and keeping the world clean and beautiful, as represented by I Love A Clean San Diego.

The fundraising committee worked to measure the size of the potential mural, research and calculate supply costs. They figured out that the mural could be about 5 feet by 8 feet and looked up the square footage per gallon of paint. They wrote and designed a flyer to ask others to support their fundraising goals. They brainstormed who they could ask for donations and supplies.

The design committee thought about color palettes, locations, layouts, and designed ideas. Theme and design groups worked to find and share mural inspirations, as we can see in the google slides below.

Overall, students have expressed excitement about having more art on campus, with bright colors and themes of protecting our world. They know that the project is long term, and are excited to contribute to making both our school and the world a better place.