Numerous murals popping up in Pasadena's Shaw District

When the Shaw Avenue revitalization project is finished, it will truly be a piece of art.

Actually, multiple pieces of art, as seven murals are slated to adorn walls in Pasadena’s historic Shaw District and four of them are already in place.

The artwork is part of a $2.8 million project funded by the Pasadena Economic Development Corp. that aims to rejuvenate the area around Shaw, an east-west artery on the city’s north side. When work is completed, it is hoped the area can regain some of the former glory it had when it served as the city’s downtown.

The renovation project got underway last fall and is expected to wrap up by August. Shaw will see improvements in on-street parking, wider sidewalks and better lighting and landscaping. Work on the murals began in early spring.

Murals represent variety of styles

The artists crafting the murals are all Texas-based, and the bulk are from the Houston area.

While Mila Sketch is from Austin and Suzy Gonzalez is from San Antonio, Anat Ronen, Betirri Bengtson and Angel Quesada are Houston residents, Amol Saraf lives in Katy and David Maldonado calls Pasadena home.

For Maldonado, the chance to paint his mural is something of a dream come true.

“For me, it has a special value to have the opportunity to create artwork to express myself on a wall in the city that I grew up in,” he said.

His mural will be on the side of Pasadena Sporting Goods, 115 E. Pasadena Freeway. Gonzalez will also be painting a wall of that building.

Awards by GCT, 115 Shaver, already has two murals, courtesy of Bengston and Quesada.

Saraf’s mural is on the Texas 225 access road, and Sketch’s artwork adorns Pasadena Gun Center, 206 Shaw.

Ronen’s work on Main Street will be seen in the coming months.

The murals are diverse and cover multiple styles. They are all crafted with a theme of “Revive/Revival.”

Maldonado likes the freedom the broad theme allows.

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