Murals of La Jolla was conceived in 2010 as a means to enhance the civic character of the community by commissioning public art projects on private property throughout La Jolla. It is a project of the Athenaeum initiated by the La Jolla Community Foundation.
An Art Advisory Committee composed of the heads of the major visual arts organizations in La Jolla commissions artists to propose the intervention of an image on specific walls on privately owned buildings. The first two artworks by Roy McMakin and Kim MacConnel were painted directly on their sites. Subsequent artworks have been printed on vinyl and installed on billboard-like structures. Each work is on view for a minimum of two years and has been generously funded by private donations.
Murals of La Jolla demonstrates that commissioning artists to create works for public spaces brings energy and vitality to a community. “What’s interesting about this collaboration is that the leaders of our arts organizations have come together to create an outdoor exhibition that makes artwork accessible to a larger audience, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Their presence in the village of La Jolla has sparked interest, appreciation, and dialogue” said Congressman Scott Peters, US Representative California 52nd District and former member of the board of the La Jolla Community Foundation.
To date, new works by Terry Allen, John Baldessari, Mel Bochner, Mark Bradford, Kelsey Brookes, Gajin Fuijita, Anya Gallaccio, Robert Ginder, Ann Hamilton, Steven Hull, Robert Irwin/Philipp Scholz Rittermann, Nina Katchadourian, Byron Kim/Victoria Fu, Jean Lowe, Kim MacConnel, Heather Gwen Martin, Ryan McGinness, Roy McMakin, Richard Allen Morris, Catherine Opie, Julian Opie, Marcos Ramirez ERRE, Lorenzo Hurtado Segovia, Fred Tomaselli, and William Wegman have been installed throughout La Jolla.