Shepard Fairey pays tribute to Maya Angelou, Dr. Maya Angelou Community High School, Los Angeles 2019

Posted by Donna on 22nd May, 2019
Filed under: From the Street

Branded Arts have just wrapped up the Maya Angelou Mural Festival, as part of its LAUSD mural festival series, a large-scale project that started with the Robert F. Kennedy Community School in 2016. Branded Arts invited over 30 local and international artists to paint a series of murals dedicated to the ideals of Dr. Maya Angelou, and to create murals that fit within the cultural landscape of the community.

For the Maya Angelou Mural Festival, Branded Arts invited artists from the local community as well as world renowned artists. Muralists included 1010, Add Fuel, Daniel Arsham, Axel Void, Bliss One, Brushwork, Victoria Cassinova, The Clover Signs, Enk One, Josh Everhorn, Shepard Fairey, Faith XVLII, Rob Hill, Huge, JR’s Inside Out Project, L.E.O., Jona Meelan, Mictlan Murals, Mr B Baby, Ni Santas, Nunca, Perez Bros, Petal 1, Rabi of Cyrcle, Raquel Rojas, Tochtlita, Valfre, Shawn Michael Warren, Andi Xoch, Joan Zeta, and ZUCO

“Our goal is for these murals to become permanent gifts to the community,” Warren Brand

Shepard Fairey painted Maya Angelou with her infectious smile and included her inspiration words within the piece.

Shepard Fairey, Maya Angelou Mural Festival, Dr. Maya Angelou community School 2019. Photo Credit Kelly Fogel

Shepard Fairey and his crew completed the mural in four days despite the weather! and included Maya Angelou’s famous words and quotes…

Shepard Fairey, Maya Angelou Mural Festival, Dr. Maya Angelou community School 2019. Photo Credit Jeffery Packard

Shepard Fairey, Maya Angelou Mural Festival, Dr. Maya Angelou community School 2019. Photo Credit Jake Ross

Shepard Fairey, Maya Angelou Mural Festival, Dr. Maya Angelou community School 2019. Photo Credit Jeffery Packard

Shepard Fairey, Maya Angelou Mural Festival, Dr. Maya Angelou community School 2019. Photo Credit Jake Ross

He expressed his delight in painting a tribute to the inspirational Maya Angelou in his instagram post …

“I’m proud of this Maya Angelou mural “Maya Angelou Rise Above,” which I just finished on Friday evening, and I was excited to be asked to paint at Dr. Maya Angelou Community High School for several reasons. First, I think the power and value of art should be emphasised wherever possible, but especially at a high school where young people are developing their world views and are still idealistically searching for the right paths forward. Second, I have been a fan of Maya Angelou’s writing since I read “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” in my 20’s, and I think she is an excellent example of using creativity to overcome adversity and express yourself on your own terms. Maya Angelou is a role model as a thinker, creator, and social-justice warrior. She has an incredible number of great quotes, but I chose “Hate has created a lot of problems in the world, but has not solved one yet” because we are living in a moment politically when many people seem to be choosing hate over compassion, but also because I think the quote is a good message for a high school.
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The mural is a big one, and the wall surface is pretty rough, so it was hard work for me and my crew of Dan Flores, Nic Bowers, Luka Densmore, Rob Zagula and Keya Tama, but we completed the mural in four days despite some strong winds. Thank you to the staff from Dr. Maya Angelou Community High School, LAUSD, and Warren Brand and his @brandedarts crew, who were extremely helpful and great to work with. A bunch of other talented artists painted at the school too, so check it out if you can.” Shepard Fairey