Michael Howard, executive director of the beautification nonprofit Operation Clean Slate, explains the purpose of a new mural at the Fairfield Branch YMCA on July 25.
After 24 years of painting communal art, Operation Clean Slate, a beautification nonprofit group from Costa Mesa, completed its 1,137th mural for the Young Men’s Christian Organization (YMCA) at its Fairfield Family Branch location.
Michael Howard, the executive director of Operation Clean Slate, attended the mural dedication hosted by the Fairfield YMCA on Tuesday, July 25.
“We took a marine theme to coincide with the pool area, but we took a little spin and made it into a pedestrian safety message,” Howard said. “We used fish in place of people, we used a scuba diver as a crossing guard and we used the animals to signify that you need to stop, be slow and obey the rules.”
Children participants from the YMCA joined Operation Clean Slate to paint.
“The scuba diver is directing the whale and the fish so the crab and the seahorse can use the crosswalk safely,” said Josh Baggett, about the mural, which he also worked on. “The fish are also in school, so that reminds me to follow school rules too.”
Howard explained that the mural took two days to complete with one day of preparation.
“Our goal [was] to use art to educate and inform to let students know to be aware of certain issues,” Howard said. “We are using art to communicate and get kids involved to build some self-esteem and have them feel connected to their community.”
State Farm sponsored Operation Clean Slate’s creation of the marine mural for the YMCA location to promote safety. Sales leader David Maciel explained the message behind the mural.
“This is just another example of what State Farm is all about,” he said. “Whether it is water safety [or] whether it is traffic safety, we want to make sure that each and every child gets to grow up to be successful individuals.”
The Fairfield YMCA’s traffic-congested intersection was presented as one of the reasons for the mural, according to State Farm agent Jose Olguin.
Olguin explained that he had the opportunity to meet with Fairfield YMCA Executive Director Leticia Leos to discuss what State Farm could do to benefit the north Long Beach community.
“One of the things we talked about was, obviously, vehicle safety and pedestrian safety,” Olguin said. “So, while you see a lot of aquatics themes in this particular mural, please don’t lose sight of the [important] piece of this mural, and that is the education of vehicle safety and, more importantly, pedestrian [safety].”
Long Beach 8th District Councilmember Al Austin, who has been a board member at the Fairfield YMCA since 2003, attended the dedication to support yet another public-art piece. In an interview with the Signal Tribune at the event, he spoke about the importance of such art in the community.
“I do support murals and arts in our community,” Austin said. “[…] We are celebrating this new, beautiful mural with a great message to our young people, but, just a few feet down, we just finished a beautiful Pow! Wow! mural. So, it just says a lot about our commitment to arts and how arts can really […] have a positive impact on everybody around. People feel better and good about their communities when they have good, positive art, and this one has a great message.”
