[Staff-l] Mural on Martinez Hall Vandalized

Dear CCA Community,

Sometime between midnight and 8 am this morning, the insect mural on Martinez Hall was vandalized. After an assessment by our Facilities team, it was determined that the mural cannot be restored.

The mural was created in 2001 by two CCA students. Over the years the mural has been pictured in many of the college's printed and web-based materials and has served as a focal point for both the Oakland campus and the Painting and Printmaking programs, which have studios in Martinez Hall. The building is named for Xavier Martinez, a prominent and influential California artist who taught at CCA from 1909 to 1942.

We expect all members of the CCA community to uphold the college’s values of artistic and academic excellence, compassion, integrity, and global citizenship. Willful destruction of campus property is something that we take very seriously, and the destruction of another artist's work violates the values of our creative community. In that spirit, we encourage anyone who has information about this incident to come forward.

In addition to paint splashed over the mural, the message "Where's the diversity?" was written on the wall. The President's Diversity Steering Group (PDSG) will be meeting this Thursday and I will ask the group to discuss this incident and suggest some next steps. PDSG's charge is to develop recommendations for improving the college's policies and practices regarding diversity, inclusion, and equity on campus. We will host some gatherings in the near future where the entire CCA community can contribute to this important conversation.

Sincerely,

Stephen Beal
President

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Stephen Beal

President

California College of the Arts

5212 Broadway

Oakland, CA 94618

and

1111-Eighth Street

San Francisco, CA 94107

Email: sbeal@cca.edu

Telephone: 510-594-3630

Fax: 510-594-3797