News release
California Institute of the Arts brought together students, first responders, civic leaders and community members Friday for the unveiling of a new student-designed and -created mural honoring firefighters and exploring Indigenous approaches to caring for California’s fire-adapted landscape.
Elected officials, civic leaders, first responders and members of the greater Santa Clarita Valley community were invited to join CalArts students, faculty, staff and leadership.
Created through a CalArts mural course on fire ecologies and communities, led by River Garza, a visiting faculty member in the School of Art, the mural examines cultural burning, the intentional use of fire to support biodiversity, reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires and strengthen cultural connections to the land, which are part of the traditional ecological knowledge and practice by Indigenous tribes.
Students developed three proposed designs, with the final mural selected through a vote of the CalArts student body.
The four students who designed the mural, which was chosen from three student proposals, drew inspiration from Indigenous visual traditions and ecological knowledge, including Wukchumni Yokuts friendship baskets, Chumash cave paintings and Tongva histories. Circular illustrations evoke the visual storytelling found in basket weaving and cave paintings, while images of water and butterflies reflect the resilience of drought-resistant plants and wildlife in the California desert.
A large sun represents warmth and the beginning of life. Its markings reference natural ochre pigments found in Indigenous cave paintings. Together, the mural elements express a collective desire to live in greater harmony with the environment.
“The mural course was designed to introduce students to Indigenous traditional ecological knowledge around fire and also how to develop a public art/mural practice,” Garza, who led the production of the mural, said in a CalArts news release.
The project was made possible by a gift from CalArts alumnus Ryosaku Miyasaka (class of 1974), whose own artistic practice has been shaped by an experience with fire during his time as a student. Grateful for the firefighters who responded, Miyasaka provided funding for CalArts students to create an artwork honoring first responders.
The unveiling program included recognition of local firefighters and first responders and an opportunity to meet the artists involved in the project, according to the news release.
Generously supported by alumni Ryosaku Miyasaka (BFA Art 74), the project originated as a course led by River Garza, culminating in a winning design proposal selected by student vote. The resulting mural reframes our relationship with the environment through the lens of Indigenous cultural burnings, traditional ecological knowledge, and resilience.
Photo courtesy of California Institute of the Arts
