Community Art

Community Faces Project       - About the Honorees       - About the Artists       - Young Storytellers / Teen Producers Cultural Tapestry Walkways Sempra Children's Art Walls Cross-cultural Dome Art

In early meetings of the Art & Design Team, participants were encouraged to bring in samples of items from their cultures. One table was full of textiles – clothing and fabrics traditional to a cultural group. However, laid out on the table, it was difficult to identify them as specific to any one culture. It was on that table that cultural unity around the project first became apparent.

In honor of that discovery, three walkways at the Plaza are adorned with renditions of cultural tapestries recreated in tile — an African batik, Samoan tapa cloth, and traditional Laotian cloth. Two of the three are complete, with the Samoan piece soon to begin.

The design for the Laotian Tapestry Tile Walkway was created by the mother of a Laotian resident and adorned with traditional Laotian colors. It was recreated in squarefoot sections through a digital process and cut with water jets. The finished piece, hand-laid by local tilesetters, is 121/2’ x 55’.

The African Batik Tile Walkway lies 30’ x 45’. The mosaic is comprised of matte and glossy versions of four different colors of tile, which gives the walk-way a more authentic tapestry look. Each piece was hand-cut, sanded, and laid in an intricate design by local artisans.