On March 5th, the ace/121 Gallery hosted an event with the Glendale YMCA and the city Department of Library, Arts and Culture to celebrate the “unveiling” of Glendale’s first-ever city commissioned mural. It was painted by Ayumi Chisolm, a resident of ACE/121, after a years-long process of bringing the city its first mural, a project initiated by ACE/121 Program Director Ben Evans.
Until very recently, Glendale held a moratorium on murals specifically. Any public art of that size had to go through a rigorous selection and approval process and was limited to private initiatives – the city had never sponsored implementing murals anywhere. This all changed with the “Art Happens Anywhere” initiative, launched by the Glendale Arts and Culture Commission in the spring of 2020 to support artists during the Covid pandemic and to bring a wide-ranging presence of art to the city. The Commission specifically called for mural submissions, and Ayumi – a professional muralist who uses SANOizm as his artist name – was chosen in the first round of funding.
After nearly two years of extensive approval processes, the mural was officially approved in late 2021 and installed in January of 2022. Ayumi’s patience prevailed and even influenced future city policy: at one point during the process, it became clear that the city needed an official mural ordinance and this mural was a catalyst in getting the ordinance in place.
The event itself on March 5th gathered together a number of arts advocates, city officials, and press to express a shared excitement at what is sure to be the first of many murals in Glendale. It was a time to witness the many moving parts that brought the mural to fruition, and it became clear that a number of people in attendance had no idea of the story behind the mural nor its coming to life. As Ayumi described at the event, the image of the mural is based on a photograph he took of his own son, age 2, in the Los Angeles National Forest, pre-pandemic, when he found the young boy peacefully seated, eyes closed.
The mural, painted on the façade of the entrance to the YMCA, tells a story, as the greatest murals do. Beyond its stated importance of bringing awareness to moments of calm during these times of great stress, not to mention nature in the height of global warming, the mural gained even more meaning following the shootings in Atlanta targeting the Asian community and the onslaught of violence toward our Asian American community over the past two years.
Ayumi’s mural has gained even more significance in giving visibility in a way that displays peace. One can sit contemplating the mural and be taken by what it asks us to do: slow down, consider nature, close our eyes, take a breath.
EngAGE CEO Tim Carpenter attended the event, and expressed excitement and gratitude for the collaboration spanning the city, YMCA, and ACE/121 community as an example of work that pays off and in a way that beautifies the city. Others in attendance were Glendale City Councilmember Ardy Kassakhian, Arts and Culture Commissioners Caroline Tufenkian and Jane Viar, and members of the Glendale YMCA Board.
ACE/121 and EngAGE are extremely proud to have played a part in bringing Glendale’s first commissioned mural to this city and to have it so close to our community here!
Enjoy the video below of the mural in progress:
