What Do You Want to Remember About Our City?

Artist MR Barnadas created a site-specific mural titled “What Do You Want to Remember About Our City?” as a commission from the City of San Diego for the Civic Center Concourse. Barnadas spent time learning about the site and its visitors, facilitating various public engagement activities. These included an artist open house, an artist residency in the Civic Center Concourse where she invited the public to share their memories of San Diego, and a Summer Youth Workshop with students from local high schools, including King Chavez High School. During these workshops, participants were introduced to the project, local murals, and public art-making. This artist-led research and engagement significantly influenced the development of the artwork.

The mural’s design takes into account the mid-century artwork by Malcolm Leland, which is part of the City’s Civic Art Collection and also present in the Civic Center Concourse. The main themes of the mural include biodiversity (local nature), civic engagement, and transformative possibilities through youth imagination. It is visually divided into sections:

Local Memories and Reflections – This section features transcribed memories from San Diegans displayed in alternating pastel rectangles. This patterned color shift is taken from the repeating rainbow iridescence of fish, translated here as chromatically organized pastels. The color scheme connects to the historic architecture of the Civic Center, bridging the past and the future.

Walkway Arrows – Two long arrows at the bottom guide viewers to the memories. Composed of pastel squares, these arrows include diverse figures that represent various people in San Diego, departing from typical public signage icons.

Ocean – This underwater scene depicts a speculative aquatic trolley interacting with a Spanish-speaking tuna. It reflects local memories related to the tuna industry, referencing both historical ties and contemporary maritime activities, including banana imports.

Beach – The beach section invites viewers to contemplate their personal connections to local beaches. The wall’s louvered vents may symbolize the border wall at Friendship Park, which also emerged in local reflections.

Green Space – San Diegans expressed a desire to highlight local parks, depicted in a way that encourages personal reflection on meaningful green spaces.

Neighborhoods and Where We Live – This part acknowledges San Diego’s diverse neighborhoods and the universal need for access to affordable housing. Worker bees carry gold houses with the hopeful phrase, “In the future, everyone will have a home.”

What Do You Want to Remember About San Diego? – The mural transitions to a text prompt, asking viewers about their memories of San Diego. This section includes a local cactus and miniature sunflowers, fostering a personal connection.

Civic Center Entrance Sign – The visible sign from the street reads “San Diego Civic Center,” accompanied by arrows. Overhead, people icons form a star-like effect around the text, framed by pink phases of Venus, symbolizing civic love and inclusivity.

The artist hopes that this mural will prompt San Diegans to consider what they would like to retain or transform in the city’s future.