Murals of La Jolla program keeps growing with Athenaeum Arts & Music Library

Founded by the La Jolla Community Foundation in 2010 and now a project of the Athenaeum Arts & Music Library, the Murals of La Jolla program has grown to include 49 separate pieces of art with No. 50 on the way.

Fifteen years ago when Murals of La Jolla began its collaborations with art professionals, private donors, and property owners, the public art program began to introduce new views and enter into a lively visual conversation. Throughout the village, formerly blank exterior walls were transformed into outdoor sites for temporary exhibitions accessible at all hours.

The mural project was created to enhance the civic character of the community by commissioning public art projects on private property throughout La Jolla. An eight-member Murals of La Jolla Art Advisory Committee composed of the heads of the major visual arts organizations is in charge of judging and selecting mural applicants. The committee commissions artists to propose the intervention of an image on specific walls on privately owned buildings. Each work has been on view for at least two years and is generously funded by private donations.

Lynda Forsha, executive director of La Jolla Murals, talked about the program’s evolution.“Since we formed a committee and did the first project, once it had legs, the program took off and ever since has grown and changed,” she said adding the program is now a nonprofit by the Athenaeum.

Forsha noted murals have a relatively short shelf life of two to four years, with “some shorter, some longer, The next one is No. 50. Every project is privately funded on private property. That’s what distinguishes this from other public art projects.”

Over the past 15 years, there have been 16 dedicated mural sites around town. Forsha noted one site “has had five different murals. In the past two years, we’ve had three new sites, and we’ve lost some sites. It’s ever-changing.”

“The walls would otherwise be blank,” concluded Forsha putting public art into proper perspective. “La Jolla is used to having all this different art now. Not having it would make La Jolla a bit barren.”

Mural themes are left up to the individuals who apply for the program. “We work as a committee to create outdoor exhibits of the arts,” said Forsha, a committee member herself noting applicants are assessed on the individual merit of their proposals. “We pick what we think would be the best choice for a particular site at a particular moment in time,” she confided. “It’s a thorough curating by a group of very seasoned art experts.”

Forsha pointed out that “three of the sites are painted murals,” while adding, “All of the rest are printed using a very special framing system.” She added, “Many of the artists are not interested in painting murals, but are more interested in creating an image. They’re a distinguished group of preeminent artists who are willing to make a new artwork for La Jolla.”

Forsha said muralists enjoy artistic license “to do whatever they want. We (the mural committee) hope they’ll make something connected to our community, that site, or this place in the world. But we don’t give them anything they’re going to be required to make.”

MURAL OF LA JOLLA BOOK

“Murals of La Jolla” is a hardbound, 176-page book documenting the first 10 years (2010–2019) and the first 30 murals of the project. The book includes two essays – “La Jolla Views,” by Susan Morgan, and “Reframing a Community: Murals of La Jolla,” by G. James Daichendt; artist biographies; and a map with mural locations. For more information about the book, visit ljathenaeum.org/murals-book.

The Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, located at 1008 Wall St., is one of only 17 nonprofit membership libraries in the United States. This rare cultural institution offers a depth and accessibility of resources and programs found nowhere else in the region, including one of the most significant collections of artists’ books in Southern California. The Athenaeum also presents a year-round schedule of art exhibitions, concerts (classical, jazz, acoustic, and new music), lectures, studio art classes through its School of the Arts, tours, and special events. For more information visit,  ljathenaeum.org and muralsoflajolla.com.

Murals of La Jolla Committee – Members include Patsy Marino, committee chair, community leader, and art collector; Jessica Berlanga-Taylor, director, Stuart Collection at the University of California, San Diego; Matt Browar, art collector, and CEO of Browar Development Corp.; Lynda Forsha, executive director, Murals of La Jolla, and principal of Art Advisory Services; Victoria Fu, associate professor, visual arts, University of San Diego; Kathryn Kanjo, David C. Copley director and CEO, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego; Lauren Lockhart, executive director, La Jolla Historical Society, and Christie Mitchell, executive director, Athenaeum Music & Arts Library.