A Facelift for 'Iconic Symbol' of Unity

A Berkeley community mural that shows the wear of its 30 years may soon look like new if it undergoes proposed restoration efforts.

Artists, art experts and community members convened in Berkeley last Tuesday to assess the deteriorating condition of "Song of Unity," a mural that community members say has come to signify social activism and cultural understanding.

The mural, which stretches 15 feet by 40 feet across a wall of La Pena Cultural Center on Shattuck Avenue, was chosen by Rescue Public Murals-a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving public murals across the United States-as one of 10 "highly significant and endangered community murals" to be assessed for restoration.

"The staff and community members are enthused that other people nationally view this as an important project," said Paul Chin, executive director of La Pena. "Naturally, we are very proud that other people value this iconic symbol."

Created in 1978, "Song of Unity" has become renowned for its stylization of street art and its political message of a unified North, Central and South American community, according to some of the mural's original artists.

"The creation of the mural wasn't tied down to a cartoon sketch," said O'Brien Thiele, one of the four original artists.

Thiele said the mural reflects the diverse traditions and experiences of the community members served by the cultural center, who include immigrants from Latin America.

Founded in 1975 in response to the violent military coup that overthrew Chilean socialist leader Salvador Allende two years earlier, La Pena has provided opportunities for community members to share their diverse cultural traditions, especially through the arts.

The mural's relationship to local history, artistic creativity and the community constitute the criteria for nominating a mural for restoration, said Timothy Drescher, who co-founded Rescue Public Murals in 2006.

"'Song of Unity' is one of the leading examples in the whole country of a community mural movement at its most engaged, socially, and at its most sophisticated, artistically," Drescher said.

Art conservation experts and the original artists of "Song of Unity" met at the cultural center to decide on how to best restore its weathered surface and deteriorating wood foundation, and also to determine the projected cost of the needed repairs.

While Rescue Public Murals sponsored the initial assessment of the mural, the source of funding for its restoration has yet to be determined, said Kristin Laise, director of Rescue Public Murals. She added that La Pena will most likely have to raise the majority of the money.

Chin estimated that the restoration of "Song of Unity" could range anywhere from $30,000 to $200,000. He said it was important to inform the public and to collect donations from the community, which proved essential to funding the mural's previous refurbishment in 1986.

Drescher said the results of the assessment will not be released for a couple of months.

Ray Patlan, another one of the original artists who made the mural, said he awaits the restoration efforts, especially since he said the cultural center is an important venue for artists.

"I hope that it's possible to make (the mural) more permanent, but it's questionable as to how much it will cost," he said.

Tags: MURAL, LA PENA CULTURAL CENTER