Public Art Projects
Light Bringer Project puts artists to work in public places in an ongoing effort to invigorate the arts in our community and to beautify the spaces that we inhabit and might otherwise take for granted.
Seeds of discovery - washington elementary stem magnet Mosaic Façade, 2025
Washington Elementary STEM Magnet enlisted Light Bringer Project to renovate their exterior wall to reflect their new name and core values. Artists Dawn Mendelson, Luz Mack, and Leigh Adams conceived of and fabricated a beautiful mosaic facade, partnering with Varela Tile for its installation. Elements include indigenous animals and plant life embedded in the design.
Octavia E. Butler Magnet Murals, 2023
We enlisted the help of some beloved local muralists from our Pasadena Chalk Festival to assist us in the repair and beautification of the walls at Octavia E. Butler Magnet. The murals draw attention to Pasadena culture and legends, reaffirming the school’s dedication to its students and community. We led students of the school in a repair effort of the existing murals, which were then covered in a layer of anti-graffiti protectant. Artist Bianca Ornelas added her mural, Bear Country, to invigorate school pride in their mascot. In front of the school, CoCo Nella painted the logo and name mural across from a mural of Octavia Butler done by Yuji Baba. On the school’s interior, an elaborate multi-wall mural of Loteria, Jackie Robinson, and Octavia Butler was painted by Jen Swain.
Eliot Arts Magnet Murals, 2023
Another beautification effort for a local Pasadena school. Muralist Allie Shehorn contributed colorful produce, a butterfly, and wings, Sascha Standard added an illustrated Eiffel Tower among flora, and Jen Swain decked the band and choir rooms in musical motifs. Tragically, these murals were lost in the Eaton Fire in January of 2025. A short documentary on the creation of these murals was made by then Light Bringer Project Intern Gianna Carmenate.
Music Center SPOTLIGHT AWARDS - Los Angeles, CA, 1997 - 2000
Commissioned by The Music Center/Los Angeles Performing Arts to highlight their Spotlight Awards, Light Bringer Project selected artists to install permanent paintings in the Music Center parking structure with supervising artist Manuel S. Gonzalez overseeing the murals’ installation.
art park - GREEN ST., PASADENA, CA, 1993 - 1996
A mural project executed by five diverse artists in a multi-story parking facility (School House Parking Structure) on Green Street in Old Pasadena. Betty Dore contributed an enormous mural of cars, Val Echavarria made a mural of Aztec motifs, an Asian woman, and marine life, Benjamin Katz added a surreal depiction of a boy reading a book, and a portrait of an African man was painted by George Combs.
