Mission
A public art project dedicated to adding 9 murals to Downtown Atascadero depicting different aspects of equality.
Project Description
The Arts have been an effective medium for expressing and promoting social change. Encouraging global equality, be it referring to gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, race, class, and many other identities, is to the benefit of a functioning society. Public art fosters critical thinking and can influence the predispositions of generations.
This mural project is intended to initiate positive identity connotations and represent aspects of equality.
Spotlight: Mural #5
“Nature Is For Everyone”
By Brandy Pippin
Brandy Pippin is the first artist to complete a mural for the Equality Mural Project series. This is the first of 10 murals to be installed in Downtown Atascadero with a theme revolving around equality. Brandy Pippin‘s mural is full of multicolored wings of beautiful birds-- a hooded merganser, a snowy egret, and a belted kingfisher—paired with the title “Nature is for Everyone”.
Brandy Pippin wants everyone to be able to interact with nature equally and have the freedom to seek out those “magical moments where humans and nature complement each other in perfect harmony.” Pippin reminds us that ideally, nature should be “a limitless source of natural pleasure” as Greek philosopher Epicurus once said, for all people.
Pippin continued, “I would like this piece of art to empower all to enjoy, share, and preserve the nature we all have access to here on the Central Coast. The Central Coast is unique in its preserved natural beauty and this mural honors and acknowledges one of the few locales left in California with such an abundance of nature.”
The mural also includes part of the topographical map of one of Pippin’s favorite local hikes, the Sycamore Crest hike, where she has spotted many of the bird species included in her design.
Funding for “Nature is for Everyone” was provided by Visit Atascadero and Tourist Business Improvement District. The entirety of the paint for the two-story mural was generously donated by the local branch of Sherwin Williams.
The group is still seeking funding for three murals, which each cost about $5000 depending on the scale. Equality Mural is also seeking three more suitable walls in the downtown Atascadero and interested building owners can contact Zoe Zappas at equalitymuralproject@gmail.com
