Participant Biographies and Project Descriptions

Salvador Barajas
Sal has an impressive background as a muralist and graphic artist. He is the owner and creative director of his own graphic design boutique. Sal’s murals celebrate Hispanic culture and values. They can be found on public and private buildings throughout San Diego. He expresses his lifelong interest in reaching out to San Diego’s underserved communities by engaging people in artistic projects. In the 1970’s he was one of the artist activists who painted murals in Chicano Park, which was recently designated as a historical landmark by the City of San Diego. He, and others, envisioned the murals as a monument to peace and a symbol for community rejuvenation in the neighborhood known as Logan Heights. More recently, Sal has educated students of all ages about art and the peaceful activism of Cesar Chavez by guiding them through the conceptualization and implementation of murals based on Chavez’s ten core values.

Sal developed a bilingual before and after school program for low income Sherman Elementary School students in the largely Hispanic neighborhood of Logan Heights. He is working with children to design and complete a series of murals for the school. The murals are based on “The Six Pillars of Character”: Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring and Citizenship, which are part of the schools values education curriculum. Sal would like students to learn about the importance of art, art execution, and career opportunities in the arts as well as the above values. Sal hopes “this art/educational project will be a great learning experience; not only for the participating students, but for their parents, and the school’s staff as well”.