Musical Mural Takes the Place of Graffiti

Inch by inch and stroke by stroke, artists are transforming a wall behind the George Washington Middle School in Long Beach into a colorful mural titled “Community of Music.” The muralists, brothers Ben and Art Valenzuela of Artesia, have been at work on the painting since April.

At left, Art Valenzuela mixes his colors; below, Ben touches up details of a face. They say the mural, at Cedar Avenue and 15th Street, should be completed in about two weeks.

Three of their assistants are from the Mural Mentor Program, a Long Beach city project that hires community youths to work on murals. At the end of the summer the youths will have an opportunity to paint their own murals in the city.

Dennis Thys, Long Beach Development Project manager, who oversees the program, said the murals are an alternative to graffiti. “This is a positive way to make a statement in their neighborhoods,” he said.