Murals come and murals go.  It’s as simple as that.

I have recently featured murals that we lost in 2016. Here – murals that came onto the scene in 2016.

From time to time I remind you – if you are viewing this on a computer as opposed to a mobile device, if you click on a photo it POPS full screen.  These images benefit from a full screen.

In October, a new mural started to take shape at Food Town Market, Sacramento and Prince.   By November (see above) it was done, and the mural had spread around the corner on Sacramento north to 3041 Sacramento.

I believe that Christian Munoz created this mural.

Since 1978, the “Song of Unity” mural has stood outside La Pena Cultural Center.  This year, it has new features:

What’s the story?  La Peña took on an artist-in-residence, Caleb Duarte, who proposed figuratively transforming La Peña into a refugee embassy.  He has added temporary mural panels on the facade highlighting migration – a weird kind of collage to my eye.

In early 2016, this is what 1740 Alcatraz looked like.

By June 2016:

Frances Townes’ “Visions of Mother Nature” tile mural at Youth Spirit Artworks was complete.  Working on the mural was the youth artist team, Sally Hindman, Patti Goldstein, Wesley Horn, Malia Landis, Marie Wojcek, the First Church Berkeley, and the Townes Family.

And the storefront window is a lot brighter.  Youth Spirit Artworks describes itself as “an art jobs training program located in Berkeley, California which is committed to empowering and bettering the lives of homeless and low-income San Francisco Bay Area young people, ages 16-25. The mission of Youth Spirit Artworks is to use art jobs and jobs training to empower and transform the lives of youth, giving young people the skills, experience, and self-confidence needed to meet their full potential. True to its name – Youth Spirit Artworks is growing, spirited and creative.”

A little further east Alcatraz, still west of Adeline, a YSA mural that started as a simple head is expanding, majorly.

The mural is largely apolitical, although some of the artists who worked on it incorporated an anti-gentrificaiton theme with adorable forest animals threatened by bags of money.

YSA staffer Angel Jesus Perez was working on the mural when we visited.  The mural is a collaborative effort with many artists involved.

Just west of the YSA Office is an alley that goes half a block south into a courtyard.  The western wall of the alley is this brilliant mural:

A bright and bold and powerful mural has just gone up on the southern wall of Black and White Liquors, Adeline at Emerson.

And just half a block into Berkeley is Angel Lights Books and Gifts, with a new mural on its south-facing wall.

The newest of the new murals is on Telegraph just north of Parker Street.

The artist is Dan Fontes of San Rafael.  He has done a lot of mural work around the Bay Area – check out his website.  Stuart Baker and the Telegraph Business Improvement District made this mural happen – good job!

Ted Friedman took this photo of Fontes at work:

In addition to the new new, I have a few photos of new old gone murals.  First, one from Berkeley High:

Lastly, Quirky Berkeley reader Marla Mazar Carr sent me photos of murals that she helped paint on the second floor of the YMCA in the 1970s:

Each in its own way, these murals celebrate life and love – the Big Love that is fighting for a toehold in Berkeley under difficult conditions.  They are bright and imperfect, a foil to the Equinoxing of Berkeley, and the claim that the new bold style inspires mind-body transformation with its dramatic color accents, For inspiration, I’ll take the murals.  And be glad for the new generation of them.

I showed the photos to my friend.  He smiled and pulled out a sketch that he had been working on.  “When was the last time we had a guerrilla mural?  No permission asked, no permission granted, no permission needed.  I’m thinking graffiti style.  Berkeley needs it.”

I’m curious and look forward to seeing more about this.  But, for now, what about the new murals shown here?