CALIPATRIA — A mural project meant to spotlight community concerns about Lithium Valley’s development remains on hold following backlash over the artist’s preliminary process, leaving residents, officials and the artist awaiting a promised public art ordinance.
The mural, commissioned by the Imperial Valley Equity & Justice Coalition and The Becoming Project for their new office at 150 W. Main St. in Calipatria, and designed by artist Sergio “Takito” Ojeda, was initially approved by the city and the property owner. However, the project was halted in October following concerns raised about the artist’s use of a “doodle grid” process, a method that incorporates temporary spray-painted designs as a guide for the final mural.
While the mural remains on hold, Calipatria City Manager Laura Gutierrez confirmed progress toward formalizing public art guidelines. “The city is currently in the process of updating the zoning ordinance, the sign section to include murals. A draft will be presented to the Planning Commission in January,” Gutierrez said.
“Once the Planning Commission has approved, recommendation will then be forwarded to the City Council, which requires a public hearing. We have and continue to do research to ensure the best outcome for our community,” she added.
The issue that halted the mural, the doodle grid, was only “temporary,” muralist Ojeda explained in an interview.
RELATED STORY: ‘Takito’ Talks Art, ‘ARTivism’ and Mural 101
The doodle grid, which included the question “What should residents from North Imperial County get from Lithium Valley?” alongside community-sourced phrases like “healthcare facility,” “water,” and “affordable housing,” sparked controversy. A post from the city of Calipatria on the Calipatria Events and Happenings Facebook group described it as “unauthorized graffiti” and stated the city was “addressing this issue promptly.”
Ojeda explained to context of the text used in the doodle grid: “I like to use it to put a significant quote that represents what I’m going to draw, what I’m going to paint, or to uplift the voices of others who would like to say something that we usually don’t get to see or hear,” he said.
The controversy began when someone driving by the building reported the doodle grid as graffiti, sparking a wave of complaints that quickly escalated. According to Ojeda, the landlord was contacted by either the city or concerned residents and was warned about the potential for citations. The city later issued a written warning labeling the doodle grid as graffiti, which required the design to be removed within 10 days.
Daniela Flores, co-founder and executive organizer of the Imperial Valley Equity & Justice Coalition, said the backlash stemmed from a misunderstanding of the artist’s process. “Unfortunately, despite the initial permissions granted, there was confusion and not enough awareness regarding the artist’s process,” Flores said during an October Calipatria City Council meeting. The complaints led to increased pressure on the landlord, who ultimately instructed Ojeda to halt the project and paint over the grid.
“The owner received threats,” Ojeda said. “After many calls, the owner was the one who decided to stop the project. So this is private property, and it was up to the owner of the building.”
Some Calipatria residents voiced concerns not about the doodle grid process itself, but about the specific content it displayed. “Being so close to election time, tensions are high and emotions are strong,” Kim Bradford, a moderator of the Calipatria Events and Happenings Facebook group, commented under the city’s post. “Spray painting things like this on the side of a building, artistic process or not, can be extremely divisive in such a small town.”
Ojeda explained that the phrases on the doodle grid were drawn directly from responses to the “What should residents get from Lithium Valley?” question posed to Northend communities during public hearings. “I asked IV Equity if they had the raw data of what the community responded to this question,” Ojeda said. “I made sure to write down the most prominent or the most repeated concerns that they had. So the words I put up on that doodle grid were direct comments from the community.
“We’ll show how it wasn’t really graffiti. It’s showing the 180 of how it starts versus how it’s finished. I love that process. I love how at the beginning people are kind of like, OK, I don’t know what’s happening,” Ojeda explained. “And it’s a way to call attention and the people come over and it’s a great way to start a conversation. And I use that personally to speak more about what the actual mural means or what I’m talking about or what I’m trying to portray.”
Despite the backlash, the Becoming Project, IV Equity & Justice Coalition and Ojeda sought to clarify the intent behind the mural and salvage the project. During a Calipatria City Council meeting, coalition members and Ojeda spoke during public comments to address the misunderstanding, explain the artistic process and advocate for the mural to move forward.
See also
William Cooper, Calipatria resident and representative of The Becoming Project, a non-profit focusing on advocacy and education that shares the building at 150 W. Main St. with IV Equity & Justice, expressed his frustration with how the situation had unfolded. “Somehow that art project got from an art project to graffiti,” Cooper said. He criticized the lack of clear communication and the role of public pressure in the decision to halt the project. “When we’re doing something, are we supposed to talk to you and then talk to the community?” he asked. “Because the community, in my opinion, pressured the city into making a rash decision.”
Cooper also called out what he described as conflicting messaging from the city. “The message from the city about ‘we don’t support any graffiti, but we do support the art,’ is ambiguous,” he said. “It left it open to misinterpretation.” Despite his frustrations, Cooper stressed his ongoing commitment to the city, saying, “I always have the city’s back. Our organization, my partners, always have the city’s back.”
Fernanda Vega, who spoke on behalf of IV Equity & Justice, shared her disappointment that the mural had been halted. “We were really looking forward to giving this gift to the community,” she said. Vega emphasized that the phrases on the doodle grid reflected real community concerns and that the mural was intended to highlight important issues like Lithium Valley’s development and its impact on local residents.
After the public comments, Ojeda and members of the coalition invited the City Council to view a projection of the mural design on the building’s wall. “We projected the design onto the wall to show the City Council and the rest of the community what it was going to look like,” Ojeda said. “It wasn’t just going to stay as a doodle grid up there forever.”
The City Council acknowledged the need for clearer policies on public art during the meeting and committed to drafting the public art ordinance now underway.
For now, Ojeda has paused work on the mural, opting to wait until the ordinance is finalized out of respect for the situation. Despite the delays, he remains hopeful about completing the project and continuing to bring public art to Calipatria. “I’m still confident that we’re going to put it up there,” he said. “Now it’s just a matter of waiting for the ordinance to go through.”
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
