The City of Santa Barbara released the design for an upcoming public street art project, which will transform the corner of State and Carrillo streets into a vibrant display inspired by Mixtec and Zapotec weaving patterns. The project is part of Bloomberg’s Asphalt Art Initiative, which selected the city as one of 10 cities in North America to receive a $100,000 grant for a public street art project last year.
Santa Barbara city staff and the County Office of Arts and Culture worked with lead artist Eddie Jiménez — a textile artist who specializes in Zapotec weaving — and Santa Barbara City College graphic design professor Irene Ramirez to create a design inspired by Indigenous weaving patterns, rendered in a striking bright blue with geometric elements in vivid pink and orange.
Jiménez said the design is inspired by the ancient practice of textile weaving, using symbols and colors that pay homage to the Zapotec culture. “A lot of the patterns and designs that we have are actually direct images from ruins that are left behind, so for us it’s a way to still stay in touch and connect with our ancestors and to honor the foundation that they laid down,” Jiménez said.
The city held several public events in the past few months to allow the community to provide input, with an all-day artist meet-and-greet in December and a weaving workshop and community outreach session held at the Farmers’ Market location in January. Planning staff also gathered input from the city Arts Advisory Committee, Santa Barbara High School’s Visual Art & Design Academy (VADA), the Mixteco/Indigena Community Organizing Project (MICOP), Friends of State Street, Santa Barbara Beautiful, and the Downtown Santa Barbara Improvement Association…