ARTiculate: Art is Essential KLBP

Ms.Yellow is a self-taught international muralist, artist and craftswoman. Born in Long Beach, Ca of Mexican descent, she has dedicated her life to the creative development and empowerment of community and youth through direct engagement. Tapping into her experience, she has worked closely with schools, community centers, boys and girls clubs etc to develop workshops and mentorship to the youth. As a muralist Ms.Yellow has worked with cities, communities and galleries to bring colorful murals to the masses. Her works center on themes such as culture, folklore, sisterhood, education, unity, love and social justice. Her artwork and murals have been displayed in museums, galleries, and streets throughout the United States and around the world such as Egypt, Haiti, Japan, Spain, France, Australia and Mexico.

Olga Lah is a second generation Korean-American, born and raised in Torrance, California. She has resided in Long Beach for the past 13 years. She received a double B.A. in Studio Art and Art History from the University of California at Riverside. She also received an M.A. in Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary. Her interest in exploring ideas of existence are explored in large-scale, site-specific installations. She engages with themes of transcendence, perception and phenomenological experience. She has exhibited extensively including at the Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach; Torrance Art Museum, Torrance; Craft Contemporary, Los Angeles; Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions; Los Angeles International Airport. Her work has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, LA Weekly, OC Weekly, KCET Artbound and Los Angeles Magazine.

Steve Martinez is an accomplished muralist, fine artist, and graphic designer. He featured at Pow Wow Long Beach (Mural Festival) in 2019. He has completed six public art projects for the city of Long Beach, and has been awarded a plaque from Lena Gonzalez (former Councilperson, now State Senator) for his work to beautify the historic Wilmore neighborhood. Past clients include: Warner Bros. Pictures, Oscar Health, Edition Hotels, Heritage Future, L.A. City Hall (El Grito: A Celebration of Latino Heritage Month), & the Arts Council for Long Beach.

Long Beach artist Mer Young has created a body of artwork manifested in collages, drawings, paintings, and public artworks. Young’s artworks aim to inspire, celebrate and elevate repressed indigenous, first nations, native cultures and women of color.

Mujica began his career traveling around Southern California with his father who was a photojournalist. Navigating the assimilation of his dual culture, Mujica’s desire to create has occupied public space with a concentration on civic activism using influences from Aztec iconography to convey ideas of contemporary art. Mujica’s avant-guard attitude advances painting through the removal of authority dictated by a painting’s use of a wall and encourages public engagement in non-traditional settings. Mujica’s freestanding paintings critique the function of painting as a specter occupying our physical space, creating visual ruptures provoking critical thinking.

Mujica has exhibited in International art fairs Qipo Art Fair (Mexico City) Project Spaces Copyright (Berlin), and has a public sculpture at the Museum of Latin American Art (Long Beach.) He has completed a MFA in Painting from Yale University, a MA in Visual & Critical Studies from the Art Institute of Chicago and holds BA’s in Political Science and Art History from Cal State Bakersfield.

Marianna Jamadi is a travel photographer who digests the world through her camera. Her love of the craft and interest in the human experience is what inspires her to share stories through photos. She was born and raised in Long Beach, spent her twenties in New York City, spent a year backpacking through the world and has since returned to her hometown of Long Beach.