Color Squad
Color Squad is a collective of teen artists that design and implement public art that addresses a need in the community. The collective was voted Best Muralist in Austin in 2019 in the Austin Chronicle’s Best Of poll.
Past projects have included a prominent community mural in East Austin in partnership with Six Square and Cap Metro, a large-scale mural at the Central Texas Food Bank, a community mural in Lott Pocket Park in partnership with GirlForward Austin, a multi-wall mural on Lamar and Barton Springs, and our newest murals at four Cap Metro bus stops around Austin focusing on sustainability.
For more information contact Color Squad Directors Vero Mognato (vero@creativeaction.org) and Anabel Gomez (anabel@creativeaction.org).
Completed Projects:
Unity Through Diversity
Ground Floor Theatre, 979 Springdale Rd #122 Austin TX 78702 | 2023 | Dimensions: 12’ x 15’
“Unity through Diversity” celebrates the importance of community in Ground Floor Theater, with the bright colors and composition of the mural reflecting the vitality of an organization that celebrates differences and let them shine. The four faces in the mural represent key individuals who have contributed to the success of Ground Floor Theater, and making it what it is today. With the other halves of the faces showcasing the diversity of the community, it conveys both the strength and unique ideas that are only possible when different people come together.
Peace Be Upon You
Austin Peace Academy, 5110 Manor Rd, Austin, TX 78723 (mural is on 51st street’s wall)
This mural is a representation of community. Created for Austin Peace Academy, each separate shape, while simple itself, creates the beauty and intricacies of the whole project. This is symbolic of the beauty of community as it is made up of many different people. The hands and petals on either side symbolize both Austin Peace Academy’s student tradition of handing out roses and an embracing of the larger Austin community.
We Will Sustain
Bus stop 1308 at 1115 East St. Johns
This mural is a visual depiction of the incredible feats that can be accomplished through community organizing and a passion for the health and wellbeing of your city. Environmental sustainability is an important aspect of this work, but it goes hand-in-hand with addressing the immense environmental inequality that prevails in Austin, especially in historically disenfranchised communities.
Depicted in this mural are local activists and environmentalists who have been leading this effort:
- Peter Rivera, Chair of the Springdale-Airport Neighborhood Association and Board of Director for PODER (People Organized in Defense of Earth and Her Resources), was critical in gaining protection for the Redbluff area of East Austin for generations to come.
- Susana Almanza, Director of PODER, formed the organization to “increase East Austin residents’ participation in corporate and government decisions related to economic development, environmental hazards and the impact on our East Austin”. She is depicted protesting against the Holly Power Plant, a source of incredible pollution and potential health problems in the community.
- Raymond Rivera, acts as chair of the Rosewood Neighborhood Association and a Board of Director for PODER, and alongside his brother Pete Rivera worked to preserve Redbluff and its incredible history.
La Colectividad
Made in collaboration with: Mylo Mendez, Lead Artist, and Color Squad Alumni Elle Hebert, Quinn Erickson, Aye Aye, Louisa Najar, and Maxwell Wood
Native Hostel and Bar & Cafe, 807 E. 4th St.
This public art project is presented by Creative Action, an Austin-based arts education non-profit organization, in partnership with Facebook Open Arts. The mural was created by lead artist Mylo Mendez in conversation with members of Color Squad, a collective of teenage artists who design and implement public art around issues of sustainability, community, and equity.
Mylo Mendez makes illustrations influenced by Mexican folk art, Mayan and Aztec design, and the color palettes of the Southwestern United States as a means of exploring their identity. By connecting to the past through artmaking and design, Mendez investigates the contemporary Mexican American experience and its relationship to heritage, family, and politics.
Growing, Growing, Gone
Bus stop 3017, 4001 Braker Ln.
Groundwork
Cap Metro Headquarters, 2910 E. 5th St.
Seeds of Community
1203 Barton Springs Rd.
Juntos Somos Austin/Together We are Austin
Lott Pocket Park, 1174 Curve St.
Let's Feed Our Neighbors
This mural was created as a commission for the Central Texas Food Bank. Before creating this piece, the teens studied food access and inequality in the greater Austin area through service learning projects and volunteering, as well as workshops from the local chapter of Food Not Bombs, and Food for Black Thought.
More about the inspiration for this piece by Color Squad member Louisa “The biggest themes I wanted people to take away from this piece was solidarity, accessibility, and outreach. I created the sun rays in the background to represent expanding food security throughout Texas. I wanted the fresh produce to make up the Texas outline to highlight and support the idea of ‘Feed our Neighbors.’ I wanted to highlight the hopeful end goal of the food bank which is to make sure everyone has access to a healthy food source.”
Map Your Roots
2921 E. 17th St., Building B