Sabor Mural in Watsonville

My name is Augie WK and I’m a lifelong artist aiming my focus towards murals, more specifically bold, colorful works of art that grab your eyes attention from far away and drag you in to have a more intimate interaction with. I have the privilege of being born and raised in the Central Coast, where I’ve grown and evolved as an artist. 

My latest artistic endeavor came about after I was awarded a grant this past summer to paint a large-scale mural on a privately-owned business in Watsonville, CA, at Don Rafa’s Market. I sketched up a design of the word “Sabor” hanging high above people’s heads with a rich tapestry of colors in a serapé pattern. These vibrant colors, combined with the choice of the word sabor (“flavor” in spanish) represent the culture and essence of Watsonville; the vibrancy of commingling colors holding a mirror up to the vibrant and creative people who make Watsonville unique. I shopped my design around and Francisco of Don Rafa’s agreed to work with me if I was awarded he grant. My original intention was to paint the mural in July when grants were announced, and have a summertime event for the community to welcome the wall and come and take photos in front of the mural. Once I received my grant money I acquired the supplies I needed, $529 worth of paint and tools, and I donate my time and some supplies worth $1608, as part of the grant stipulations to match the amount given or more. I quickly realized that the wall would be taking me well passed the summer, as I am only able to paint on my two days off every week, I do work a full time job as well.

So upon receiving the grant money, my girlfriend and assistant, Jessica Carmen, began to contact the City of Watsonville in order to verify what permit, if any, was necessary in order to continue. Jessica left several messages and spoke to receptionists about the mural. She also checked the City's website and read the entirety of the Municipal and Penal codes and found no mention of "mural laws." NO ONE reached back out to us, even to let us know that we had called the wrong department or guide us in the right direction. We then contacted Hannah at the Santa Cruz Arts Council and asked for advice. She put us in contact with other accomplished muralists within the city who told us that the City had no regulations in place for murals. With this information, we proceeded to create a contract between artist and business owner to ensure that the mural could continue and would cover the business' graffiti liability and a waiver required by the state of California. 

We began the Mural on August 20, 2018 and for two days of the week, every week, made as much progress as possible. 

After more than a month, we and the business owner had been approached by the City's graffiti abatement personnel and vaguely told that the mural was too large or that it would be "filled with too many colors" regardless of us having a good size amount of every color used on standby for touch ups. We found it suspicious that immediately after these encounters, someone reported the mural to the City as "offensive." We were then contacted by a City code enforcement officer to seize and desist until we had obtained the proper permit along with an email of Resolution No. 66-04, having to due with approval for "murals in public spaces, public buildings, and public right-of-ways." A notice of violation was then sent (to the wrong address) to the business owner. Per Justin Meeks, the principal planner, we were informed that the fee to submit the application is $791 and $168 fee to hold a public hearing in order to hear from the community and approve or deny the mural at that time.

We believe we did our due diligence and are now being blindsided with little to no time and resources to complete our vision. This mural is our gift to the City of Watsonville and all of the residents and visitors. Dozens of community members and passers by have expressed their gratitude, support and interest in the completion of the mural. How does the City of Watsonville seek to encourage arts and community with fees so high? It is for this reason that we are now turning to the community for help!

Included in our funding goal, are the two fees as well as money to create stickers of the mural as a gift to the community members upon completion of the mural.

Feel free to contact us with more information or ways to help at [email redacted]