Restoration of the “Postcards from Ballona” community mural is scheduled for completion today, Earth Day.
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Photos by Roslyn Wilkins
The mural is located on the bicycle path at Overland Avenue, behind the Julian Dixon Library.
The accompanying photos chart the progress
In 1995, three artists, Lori Escalera, Lucy Blake-Elahi and Francois Bardol, and community volunteers known as the “Ballona Creek Mural Committee,” conceived of an art project intended to beautify a section of the Ballona Creek bike path with “postcards” depicting the history of Culver City.
Ballona Creek was important to the livelihood of the Native Americans who once inhabited the area as well as the development of Culver City. For information on the early settlers and on Culver City, visit www.culvercity.org
The scope of the project included gathering local students, government, Culver City organizations, resident artists and volunteers to create a sense of community involvement.
The mural was completed two years later, in 1997.
In recent years, the mural has been subjected to vandalism and graffiti. With this restoration, the damage will be reversed.
As was the case when the mural was originally created, this restoration project is intended in part as a public awareness effort to help better protect the mural from future damage.
Everybody is invited to come by, meet the artists, take photos, and view the mural as it nears completion.
For more information and to access downloadable photos and movie, please visit http://thestreetpainter.com/CommunityArt/UPCOMING%21.html
Ms. Wilkins may be contacted at artcat@sbcglobal.net
