FRESNO — The Roots mural (see above) was created by students aged 10-17 in the Fresno Art Museum’s Summer 2017 ArtAcademy class. It was completed under the direction and guidance of muralist, graffiti artist, and educator Erik Gonzalez, assisted by FAM Art instructor Cat Dellavalle and former ArtAcademy student (now current art instructor) Ariana Hernandez. Students explored FAM’s Pre-Columbian collection for inspiration and then spent the next four days painting this mural.
Erik Gonzalez explained the process: “The idea was to use letters and create a typography mural with a Pre-Colombian theme. We chose the word “Roots” to symbolize the ancestry of the original artisans, our young artists, as well as to acknowledge the artist in all of us and the importance of creative expression. Various meanings were explained to the youth and turned into educational conversations and discussions.”
The students who worked on the mural were Elena Aliason, Andre Amico, Dante Amico, Dylan Brown, Luz Marina Camargo, Edi Dellavalle, Mio Gonzalez, Kiara Harmon, Charlotte Johnson, Samaya Katikireddy, Michael Kohl, Kian Ramani, and Samantha Zack.
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