Photo of CSUN alum and muralist, Wayne Healy. Photo courtesy of Natale Zappia.

Acclaimed Chicano muralist Wayne Healy will take part in a virtual discussion about the intersection between art, sustainability and public places with California State University, Northridge students on Tuesday, April 21.

The talk, ‘Public Art and Sustainability in Uncertain Times: A Conversation with Wayne Healy,’ will take place via Zoom from noon to 1 p.m. on April 12, and is hosted by CSUN’s Graduate Studies’ Distinguished Speaker Series, Institute for Sustainability, Department of Chicana/o Studies and Department of Art.

Healy will discuss how his art and the mural movement are an expression of public space, forgotten histories and sustainability.

“The institute is pivoting towards community projects, resiliency, and expressions to better understand sustainability in all its forms,” said Natale A. Zappia, director of the Institute for Sustainability. “The arts and humanities have a lot to offer in tackling our environmental challenges, especially during these uncertain times.”

Healy earned his master’s degree in art from CSUN in 1999. In 1975, he and David Rivas Botello founded East Los Streetscapers, a muralist art collective.  Soon other artists such as George Yepes, Paul Botello, Rudy Calderon, Rich Raya, Ricardo Duffy, Charles Solares and Fabian Debora joined. In 1990, Healy and Botello founded the Palmetto Gallery to create exposure for younger artists. Karen Mary Davalos recognized the gallery in her book, “Chicana/o Remix: Art and Errata Since the Sixties,” as an art organization that “engaged the art market without emphasizing profit-making.”

Healy and Botello’s primary medium for early murals was acrylic paint and later incorporated hand-painted tiles, cast bronze and porcelain-enameled steel. Collectively, they’ve worked on over 20 murals and large-scale public artworks primarily in Los Angeles including “Moonscapes I-V” in Culver City, “Take the Future in Your Hands” in Pacoima and “Our Pico Neighborhood” in Santa Monica. Murals outside of Los Angeles are in San Jose, California, Santa Maria, California, Houston, Texas, St. Louis, Missouri and Bellingham, Washington.

“The politically charged civil rights movement; the untold histories of our land and people, plus the vast wall space available under the never-ending sunlight form the perfect storm, i.e., the mural movement, Healy said. “Monumental graphics, site-specific design and a complimentary color palette create a sustainability for our communities and our souls.”

The public is invited to sit on Healy’s April 21 discussion. To learn how, visit https://csun.edu/sustainability/events/public-art-and-sustainability-uncertain-times-conversation-wayne-healy.

Alumni, Art Department, Chicano/a Studies, Institute for Sustainability