The mission of the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture is to advance arts, culture, and creativity throughout LA County. We fulfill our mission by providing services and support in areas including grants and technical assistance for nonprofit organizations; professional development opportunities; commissioning civic artworks and managing the County’s civic art collection; implementing countywide arts education initiatives; research and evaluation; career pathways in the creative economy; free community programs; and cross sector creative strategies that address civic issues. This work is framed by the County’s Cultural Equity and Inclusion Initiative and a longstanding commitment to fostering access to the arts.
Located in the heart of Lennox, east of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Lennox Park is an energetic and popular place for community members of all ages. Through a partnership between the Office of Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, the Los Angeles County Parks & Recreation Department, the Los Angeles County Arts Commission’s Civic Art Program and Create Now, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit focused on social change through the arts, more than 100 community members had a hand in producing an over 1,200 square foot mural titled, “Lennox Past, Present and Future,”
Create Now hired local muralist and educator Roger Dolin to conduct two drawing workshops and facilitate the mural making process with members of the community. During the workshop, participants were encouraged to design and paint their vision of Lennox. Virtually every image in the mural originates from one of the over 80 drawings produced by Lennox community members. Dolin worked with a core of more than 30 participants, primarily youth between the ages of 6 and 20. During the process residents were encouraged to help with the painting, observe and comment on the mural.
In an effort to feature the best qualities of the Lennox community and convey hope for the future, themes of environmentalism, sustainability and health were integrated in the artwork. The park pool, basketball court, and jungle gym reflect those important hubs of activity in Lennox. The jacaranda, the airplane, the food vendor and the postman are also defining elements of the park and the entire Lennox community.
Artist, Roger Dolin explains the mural’s visual entry point in outer space. “I liked the idea of Lennox Park from close up and from far away, showing that the people of Lennox are a part of a micro community, but a also a part of the rest of the world.” According to Dolin, outer space and the distant hills convey “Lennox as part of the whole world. It has a history as well as a future and people came from all over to be here.” The micro and macro perspectives also reinforce the theme of environmentalism, which starts locally, but has a global impact."
About the Artist:
Create Now serves poverty-stricken families with histories of violence, substance abuse, or neglect. Through their five program areas; music, art, writing, performing arts and cultural excursions, high-risk and at-risk youth learn to express themselves in a positive manner versus the destructive ways that they have in the past. Create Now programs develop youths' talent and abilities and help build teamwork, self-esteem and confidence.
Roger Dolin is a Los Angeles based artist and owner/director of Mural Environments, Inc. which specializes in the design and execution of murals for education and healthcare facilities. Its focus is on children's environments for the healthcare industry in many of the major hospitals in the Los Angeles area, such as UCLA Medical Center and Long Beach Memorial Hospital. Mural Environments strongly believes in the healing value of art.
