Mural Madness features nine, eight by four foot painted panels created during a live mural competition held during San Mateo’s annual September Arts & Culture Fest. The project was inspired by the many new and exciting art battles happening in the Bay Area and beyond. Emerging Bay Area muralists (three or less murals created) were invited to apply to participate. The theme was Our Community.
The intention behind Mural Madness was to give emerging muralists an opportunity to gain more visibility in the community. Nine artists were selected from an open application process. Murals were to be painted live, on site, over a six-hour period. The winners of the competition were determined by attendees of the event through an online voting process. The First Place winner, Leysar Garcia, will be commissioned to paint a version of their mural on a permanent wall in San Mateo.
The September Arts & Culture Fest is sponsored by the San Mateo County Office of Arts and Culture and Arts Commission, San Mateo Area Chamber of Commerce, and Downtown Association of San Mateo.
Participating artists include Leysar Garcia (1st Place Award), Marielle Palatino (2nd Place Award), Alex Holland (3rd Place Award), Anne Sophie Gaudet, Cristina Edwards, Ella Rochelle-Lawton, Iris Zheng, Mario Guitron, and Nina Wright. County Arts Commissioner Stephen Seymour ran the event.
The San Mateo County Office of Arts and Culture (OAC) and its Arts Commission champions the arts as essential for a healthy and vibrant community by shaping innovative cultural policies, creating inclusive and diverse programming, and ensuring access to arts and culture for all, with consideration for race, ability, sexual orientation, age, gender, economic status, and cultural background. We commit to partnering with artists and arts organizations that represent and celebrate the diversity of our county, through the fair and equitable distribution of programmatic and financial support. We support art events, programs, outreach, engagement and services that create social vitality in neighborhoods, K-12 schools, and under-served constituencies.
The San Mateo County Arts Commission champions the arts as essential for a healthy and vibrant community by shaping innovative cultural policies, creating inclusive and diverse programming, investing in the creative economy, and ensuring access to arts and culture for all.
The Arts Commission supports arts events, programs, outreach, engagement or services that create social vitality in neighborhoods, K-12 schools and with underserved constituencies. The Arts Commission provides funds to assist arts organizations in building a strong presence in the community, growing audiences and expanding services and programs to the community and to children in grades K-12 and to educate and expose county residents to a wide range of artistic and cultural expression.
The Arts Commission consists of ten members, appointed by the Board of Supervisors, two each residing in one of the supervisorial districts. It exists to promote and encourage the arts, to serve in an advisory capacity to the Board of Supervisors, to prepare and update the county's strategic and cultural plan, and act as a liaison with arts organizations to ensure collaboration and coordination related to culture and art activities in San Mateo County.
