Seventh District Long Beach Councilmember Roberto Uranga (right) presents artist Emily Kiwa Tanaka with an award for her work on a mural she painted on the walls of the California Heights Market.
Editorial Intern
The California Heights Neighborhood Association (CHNA) and 7th District Councilmember Roberto Uranga unveiled a new mural at noon on Saturday, July 1, painted by Emily Kiwa Tanaka on the walls of the California Heights Market at the corner of Bixby and Orange avenues.
Kiwa Tanaka explained that her inspiration for the mural, which depicts a map of Cal Heights— a historic district that spans from Wardlow Road to Bixby Avenue and Atlantic to Cherry avenues— along with pictures portraying elements of the neighborhood, came from a combination of her positive childhood memories growing up in Cal Heights and her love of maps.
In appreciation for the mural, Uranga presented Kiwa Tanaka, the CHNA and the California Heights Market with certificates.
“Murals like these enhance the community,” Uranga said. “It makes people want to be a part of that community and want to visit those areas.”
The idea for adding a mural came from the CHNA, who sponsored a mural one block down on Wardlow Avenue 16 years ago and wanted to have a bookend effect with a mural on each end of the block, CHNA Board Member Christa Stelzmuller explained.
“When we sent out for requests for proposals from different artists,” Stelzmuller said, “Emily’s came back, and it just had this sort of fun, happy, whimsical feel to it, and that’s ultimately what stood out about it.”
“It’s morphed a lot,” she said. “The drawing that you see is basically the same, but the colors were a lot different.”
Throughout the painting process, which Kiwa Tanaka said took about four weeks, she received significant help from her family.
“We’re a creative family,” she said, “and everyone has their superpower.”
Timothy Tanaka, Kiwa Tanaka’s younger brother, who claims to be the only non-artistic member of the family, said the experience was a great way to bond.
“It got frustrating sometimes,” Tanaka said, “but it was a lot of fun. We got to spend some time together that we don’t get to do so often anymore.”
Kiwa Tanaka agreed, saying she hadn’t spent that much quality time with her parents since high school.
The mural can be easily viewed from the California Heights Market parking lot or by driving along Bixby Avenue.
Hashtag Burgers catered the event, serving hamburgers, barbecued chicken and baked beans, and the California Heights Market supplied ice cream while Uranga’s soon-to-be son-in-law disc-jockeyed.
Kiwa Tanaka’s next artistic event will be the Long Beach Zine Fest at the Museum of Latin American Art on Sunday, Aug. 6 from 11am to 5pm. More information about the CHNA and its events can be found at calheights.org.
