‘Love Is for Everyone’ Is Theme of AIDS Mural

A mural believed to be the first dealing with the subject of AIDS will be dedicated next Sunday at the Minority AIDS Project at 5149 W. Jefferson Blvd.

The mural, designed and painted by artists Mary-Linn Hughes and Reginald Zachary, reaches out with the message “Love is for everyone” and portrays a broad range of people--gay and straight, men, women and children of various races--affected with AIDS and the human immunodeficiency virus that causes the disease.

The 2 p.m. dedication ceremonies will feature performances by the gospel choir of Unity Fellowship Church. Those attending may submit the names of loved ones lost to AIDS to be painted on a “quilt” portion of the mural, sponsored by Venice’s Social and Public Art Resource Center.

MORE MURALS: “Your Kids, My Kids,” a new SPARC mural dealing with the effects of gang violence on children, has been completed at Olive Vista Middle School, 14600 Tyler St., Sylmar. Created by artist Manuel Velasquez, who also works as a gang mediator in the San Fernando Valley, the 14x60-foot mural portrays four area children who were killed in gang incidents. The youngsters are surrounded by portraits of other children currently living in the neighborhood, to suggest that life in gang territory is chancy and that anyone can become a victim.

Artist Luis Becerra has found a permanent home in Olvera Street’s Old Winery for his “Libertad,” a mural he completed in September for a Mexican Independence Day festival at Lawry’s California Center. The colorful 8x12-foot mural depicts the events of Mexico’s independence from Spain in 1810. It will be on view daily from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.

RECESSION NEWS: The latest art gallery to fall victim to the recession and art market slump is Santa Monica’s Mark Richards Gallery. The gallery, in the Broadway Gallery Complex at 2114 Broadway, will close Jan. 15. Until then, a group show of works by Los Angeles- and New York-based artists is on view.

ENTRIES: Culver City is accepting applications for its Artist Resource Register, which will be used by the city’s arts committee to select artists for acquisitions or commissions. Current projects available for commission include works for a new city hall and two parks. Applications are due in mid-January. Information: (310) 202-5775.

Jan. 10 is the deadline for artists and design teams to submit qualifications for site-specific commissions for Santa Barbara County’s new Betteravia Government Center in Santa Maria. Three commissions are available: $115,000 to address the center’s central pool area and viewing benches, $10,000 for two bus shelter designs and $25,000 for a facade treatment for the Social Services Building entrance. Information: (805) 568-3430.

AFTER HOURS: Beginning Friday, the L.A. County Museum of Art will extend its hours, remaining open on Friday nights for after-work visitors until 9 p.m. Entertainment will be provided by musical groups and soloists, and free parking will be offered from 5 to 9 p.m. in the lot across from the museum on Wilshire Boulevard and Spaulding Avenue. Information: (213) 857-6000.