CULVER CITY, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Today, The City of Culver City’s Cultural Affairs Division announced that Sonia Romero as the selected artist to create an original art installation for the Farragut Connector – the passageway extending access along Farragut Avenue from Jasmine Avenue to Jackson Avenue. This existing path, which renovations were completed in October, features new amenities to enhance accessibility, safety, and visibility for the community. Since September 2023, Cultural Affairs Division and Public Works Department have collaborated to realize this redevelopment.
For the proposed art installation, the search for the most appropriate artist involved a rigorous, two-phase process. The City’s Cultural Affairs Commission recommended Romero, who was chosen from a total of eleven participating artists, to the City Council for final approval in September 2024. In mid-November, the artist will begin creation of an original, ceramic-tiled mural, measuring 42 inches in height by 10 feet in length, for the proposed art location within the renovated passageway. Final art installation will take place by the end of June 2025. In addition, Cultural Affairs Division will install a tribute within the path whose vicinity is believed to be one of the former entryways and home to a speedway ticket booth.
Romero is a Los Angeles-based artist who has extensive experience, particularly in public art. She had received her BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design. To date, the artist has completed 15 combined permanent and temporary public art commissions throughout southern California. Her artworks have been shown throughout the U.S. and are in the permanent collections of LACMA, Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture of the Riverside Art Museum, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College, to name a few. Recent solo exhibitions include a mid-career retrospective at Laband Art Gallery, Loyola Marymount University, and an upcoming solo exhibition at Catalina Museum for Art & History in Summer 2025.
The art component of the Farragut Connector project is made possible by the City of Culver City and its Cultural Affairs Commission with funding from the Cultural Trust Fund. You can read more about the renovations of the project on the City’s website: https://www.culvercity.org/News/Farragut-Connector-Replacement-Project
ABOUT THE ARTIST:
Sonia Romero (b. 1980) is an artist based in Los Angeles known for her paper-cut and printmaking aesthetics, which she incorporates into both her fine art and public art commissions. Romero’s paintings, prints and sculptures can be found in many prestigious collections, including the Smithsonian Museum of American Art, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Cheech Marin Museum of Art and Culture.
Romero is an accomplished public artist, completing more then 10 permanent large scale public art projects throughout Southern California, including murals at both the Mariachi Plaza and Westlake Macarthur Metro Stations. She has completed multiple projects with the Los Angeles County Arts and Culture, the Department of Cultural Affairs, and the Community Redevelopment Agency.
Learn more about the artist: https://www.soniaromero.net/
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This news article is partially based on a press release issued by the City of Culver City. This version first appeared on and is Copr. © 2024 CaliforniaNewswire.com
