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Teens Create Large-Scale Artwork for Public Display on South Coast

Photo by Daniel Barnett
Students paint murals that are portraits of influential artists.

High school students are beautifying Santa Barbara with art.

If you stroll through Santa Barbara’s “Funk Zone,” you may come across large-scale murals. These brightly painted eight-foot by eight-foot panels on the Yanonali Street side of Anacapa were created by 43 students from Santa Barbara High School’s Visual Arts and Design Academy.

“Painting in the background colors and then going back over with black to do the smaller details,” 17-year-old Allie Cole said.

The six murals depict influential artists including Ai Wei Wei and Diego Rivera.

“All art is diverse. These totally different artists all inspire us,” she said.

The students worked with Ventura-based international mural artist David Flores, who taught them life-long lessons.

“Fortitude. You got to stick with it in the art game. It’s not something that’s going to happen overnight,” Flores said.

The murals will be on display for six months to a year.