True Colors Mural Project
Master artist Juana Alicia Araiza founded the True Colors Mural Project in 2008. She directs this public mural program based in the East San Francisco Bay Area. TCMP preserves and revives the legacy of Mexican and Chican@ Mural Movements through the teaching of its philosophy and practice. The tradition of mural painting that TCMP practices is rooted in the ancient indigenous frescoes, stelas, and bas reliefs of Mesoamerica, in the contemporary mural movements of revolutionary and post-revolutionary Mexico (1910-1970), and finally, its development in the US. TCMP’s tradition is the lineage of the political murals of Los Tres Grandes (muralists Rivera, Orozco, and Siqueiros). TCMP trains young artists to actively participate in community empowerment by equipping them with the tools necessary for social change.
In 2013, the True Colors Mural Project received a grant from ACTA’s Living Cultures Grants Program to bring together professional artists, grassroots organizations, local schools, and business owners to create high-quality, enduring, and meaningful murals in underrepresented neighborhoods in Berkeley.