Austin’s Best Murals with a Message
January 22, 2021
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Austin may be known as the “Live Music Capital of the World,” but its art scene stretches beyond the musical realm. Austin is home to many talented visual artists who use the walls of our city as their canvas for commenting on the past, present and future of our booming town.
The Heywood Hotel is fortunate to be located a quick walk or bike ride from some of our city’s most impressive displays of murals with a message. In fact, several are located on our very street! Our neighborhood of East Austin has long been considered one of Austin’s best destinations for impressive, evocative street art.
During the Coronavirus pandemic, outdoor art has thrived. The act of taking the museum outside is certainly of the moment. There’s never been a better time to hop on a bike for a scenic ride to discover some of the most iconic murals in Austin, as well as some new pieces.
This list of Austin’s best murals with a message is up to date for 2021. Part of the beauty of street art is its transient and ever-evolving nature, so catch these murals in their full, vibrant glory while you can!
Image credit: Heywood Hotel
“La Lotería”
Just steps away from the Heywood Hotel is “La Lotería,” a colorful tribute to the traditional Mexican game that is similar to Bingo, but uses a deck of cards featuring symbolic characters. This iconic Austin mural graces the west-facing wall of the Flat Track Coffee and Cycleast building.
Originally painted in 1989 under a city sponsorship, the wall was sadly painted over in 2015 as part of a SXSW exhibition, much to the dismay and heartbreak of the East Cesar Chavez neighborhood and broader Latinx community.
In 2016, the mural was restored by a group of 15 East Austin mural artists including four of the artists who had worked on the original piece. At that time, a portrait of Selena as “La Cantante” was added. The project was funded by SXSW and managed by the nonprofit Arte Texas, a group formed to preserve East Austin art.
The mural celebrates Austin’s rich Mexican-American culture and heritage of our East Austin community, and serves as a larger-than-life reminder of the significance of the context and message behind local street art, and the power of art to bring communities together.
Location: 1619 E Cesar Chavez St. (Flat Track Coffee and Cycleast building)
Original art by Felipe Garza and various artists. Restored and updated by various artists including Felipe Garza, Filiberto Mendieta, Robert Kane Herrera, Ramon Maldonado, Oscar “Tez” Cortez, Tony Gonzales, Raymond Robledo and Mando “Taner / Lace” Martinez. (Are we missing anyone? Tell us!)
Image credit: Heywood Hotel
“Vegetarians of the World”
At the corner of East Cesar Chavez and Chicon, feast your eyes on a three-story-tall mural dedicated to some of the planet’s most famous vegetarians! There are 15 individuals featured. Can you name them all?
This mammoth art project, nearly 40 feet tall, was commissioned by Mr. Natural, a fixture of our East Austin community for more than 30 years. When Maria and Jesus Mendoza opened the Mexican vegetarian restaurant, bakery and natural health food store on East Cesar Chavez Street in 1988, their goal was to introduce vegetarianism and holistic health to a neighborhood that was largely unfamiliar with the concepts. More than three decades later, the family business is run by the Mendozas, their adult children, and even some grandchildren — three generations!
Jesus Mendoza Jr. says that commissioning the enormous “Vegetarians of the World” mural was a way to continue spreading the message of vegetarianism as a healthful choice by associating it with familiar faces. The mural says vegetarianism “is not something new. It’s been around. People have more of a connection to it when they see famous artists who are vegetarians. These are people we all know.”
The project was finished in 2018 by artists Uloang and Nano Berks who say it took three months, 20 gallons of paint, and more than 500 spray cans.
Location: 1901 E. Cesar Chavez (Mr. Natural building)
Art by Uloang and Nano Berks
Image credit: Curbed Austin
“Sí Se Puede”
A few blocks west of the Heywood Hotel, Latino American civil rights and labor leader César Chávez proudly welcomes visitors to the neighborhood that bears his name.
The “Sí Se Puede” mural has been a landmark of our East César Chávez neighborhood since 2005. It portrays the founder of the United Farm Workers of America holding a basket of produce and proclaiming the UFW’s famous motto, which translates as “Yes, it can be done!”
The mural reminds the viewer of the numerous contributions of the Latinx American community to Austin and our nation as a whole, and resonates as clearly today as ever with its message of solidarity in the quest for racial justice and economic opportunity for all.
Location: 1200 E. Cesar Chavez Street (the former Long Motors building)
Art by: unknown. Tell us!
Image courtesy of the artist Will Hatch Crosby
“Hola Friend”
Artist Will Hatch Crosby’s tribute to the late Daniel Johnston’s iconic “Hi, How Are You?” mural is a whimsical celebration of the cultural diversity of our East Austin neighborhood.
Completed in 2018, the work reminds viewers to make connections with their neighbors, a simple and friendly message of community and unification that is as important today as ever.
And for those interested in linking the piece to its inspiration, you can find “Jerimiah the Innocent,” more commonly known as “Hi, How Are You?” at 408 W. 21st St. (Guadalupe and 21st).
Location: 2131 East Cesar Chavez Street
Art by Will Hatch Crosby
Image courtesy of Austin Public Library
“Voyage to Soulsville”
The south-facing wall of the George Washington Carver branch of the Austin Public Library bears one of the most vivid murals in Austin.
Commissioned by our local library system and the Black Arts Alliance in, “Voyage to Soulsville” depicts a vessel on voyage through the discovery of Black identity.
The work was created by John Fisher in 1986, and later restored in 1999. It speaks of the past and the present of Austin’s Black community. Included among the African and pre-Columbian imagery are depictions of nine shotgun houses to represent Austin’s past segregated neighborhoods, and a portrait of Mahala Murchinson, a 10-year-old slave who was the first African-American registered in Austin.
Location: 1161 Angelina St. (George Carver Washington Library building)
Art by John Fisher
Image courtesy of the Austin Parks Foundation
“Hillside Miracle”
In 1978, artist Raúl Valdez dedicated a piece of art to the people of East Austin on a sprawling 4,000 foot canvas — the Hillside Theater of the Oswaldo A.B. Cantu Recreation Center at the Pan American Neighborhood Park.
Valdez engaged the community in his work, inviting neighborhood input and involving local students to be part of the art project. The resulting mural features imagery of the Aztec civilization, Spanish conquistadors, Mexican freedom fighters and the Chicano civil rights movement.
Recognized as a vital part of our East Austin culture, the City of Austin granted $52,000 in 2011 to restore the expansive mural to its original, vibrant glory.
Location: 2100 E. 3rd Street (Hillside Theater buildings at Pan American Park)
Art by Raúl Valdez
Image courtesy of the artist Chris Rogers
“We Rise”
East Austin’s rich and diverse roots are on full display in Chris Rogers’s “We Rise.” Vibrant, inspiring and proud, the mural stands as a celebration of Blackness.
The mural features the portraits of more than 30 famous Black artists like Jimi Hendrix, Prince, Nina Simone and Beyonce, as well as such trailblazers as Muhammed Ali and Barbara Jordan. Keep your eyes peeled for Austin’s own remarkable legend, Richard Overton, who, aged 112 years, was the oldest surviving World War II veteran and the oldest man in the United States. Mr. Overton died in 2018, just months after “We Rise” was completed.
This famous Austin mural is another that emerged out of controversy. A prior mural by Rogers in the same location was painted over the prior year as new businesses moved into the area. The resulting neighborhood outcry led local activists to conduct numerous public meetings to collect community input.
Six Square, a local nonprofit committed to preserve Austin’s Black culture, negotiated guardianship of the wall through 2023 and commissioned a new mural by the same artist to be painted there. As a nod to the origins of the mural, Rogers included a phoenix with outstretched wings at the top of the piece to symbolize growth and change.
Rogers said, when people see the mural for the first time, “I want them to be smacked in the face with hope and inspiration and life…which is what this neighborhood is all about. By honoring the lives that come before us, they get new life.”
Location: 1900 E. 12th St. (12th and Chicon)
Art by Chris Rogers
‘Til Death image courtesy of Creative Action. Let’s Band Together image courtesy of Whisler’s. Praying Washing Hands courtesy of the artist, Federico Archuleta.
“’Til Death Do Us Part”
Austin stencil graffiti artist Federico Archuleta (a.k.a. El Federico) is one of Austin’s most prolific street artists. His imagery, rooted in Mexican symbolism, can be found all over town. Look for his signature, “Fe De Rico” generally applied in the lower corner of his work.
“’Til Death Do Us Part” first appeared on the Green & White Grocery building in 2009 and has since been replicated in various places around town including at the Mexic-Arte Museum downtown. This is arguably his most famous piece, serving as a popular background image for Instagrammers, not to mention plenty of Austinites’ engagement announcements and wedding invitations.
Location: 1201 E. 7th Street (Green & White Grocery building)
Art by Federico Archuleta (El Federico)
“Let’s Band Together”
Another of Archuleta’s pieces, “Let’s Band Together” shows a heart with musical instruments as valves, to convey how music is the heartbeat of our city. During the time of Covid, his mural serves as a timely reminder of the importance of our musical community and the deep losses it has suffered in the past year.
Location: 1816 E. Sixth St. (Whisler’s building)
Art by Federico Archuleta (El Federico)
“Praying Washing Hands”
The Coronavirus pandemic inspired one of Archuleta’s most recent pieces.
“Praying Washing Hands” repurposes a classic religious piece, “Praying Hands” by Albrecht Dürer. Placed between the familiar hands is a bar of soap, with bubbles seeping out from the fingers.
Archuleta has applied and customized the stencil-based image to walls and bridges throughout Texas, all the way to the Mexican border; spreading the word to stop the spread of Covid-19.
He says, “Remember: Prayer without action equals nothing!…. WE are the main defense! Cuídense! Take care!”
Location: 2219 Manor Rd. (El Chilito building) and 1300 E. Sixth St. (Lucky Duck building)
Art by Federico Archuleta (El Federico)
Image courtesy of the Downtown Austin Alliance
“The Beauty of Liberty and Equality”
Commissioned by the Downtown Austin Alliance Foundation and completed in March, 2020, “The Beauty of Liberty and Equality” commemorates the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment in grand fashion.
This collaboration between Canadian artist Sandra Chevrier and internationally renowned street artist Shepard Fairey (of Obey Giant and “Obama Hope” fame) depicts Wonder Woman breaking the chain of oppression with her bare hands.
The piece is recognized as the largest mural in Austin, standing an imposing 12 stories tall at the corner of Congress Ave. and Cesar Chavez St. in downtown Austin.
Location: 111 E Cesar Chavez St. (Line Hotel building)
Art by Sandra Chevrier and Shepard Fairey
Image courtesy of the artist Sadé Lawson
“It’s Okay Not to Be Okay”
Another contribution from the Downtown Austin Alliance’s 2020 Writing on the Walls program is Austin artist Sadé Lawson’s “It’s Okay Not to Be Okay.”
A message of female empowerment, the mural depicts three women of color, represented in the primary colors of red, blue and yellow. Water lilies and dragonflies frame the image.
The piece incorporates a message of mental health, a theme that Lawson expresses in much of her work. Her goal was to “illustrate somebody being empowered by all of their emotions, not just the ones that are deemed okay or accepted.”
The mural was completed in March, 2020 by Lawson with the help of an all-female crew of brush painters. It resides on the northbound wall of the Lamar Blvd. underpass, right next to “Data Tells A Story,” a piece by prominent artist Laurie Frick.
Location: 4th and Lamar on the south-facing side of the overpass
Art by Sadé Lawson
Image credit: Andrew Anderson, courtesy of CBS Austin
“Tu Dolor es Nuestro Color”
At the Mexic-Arte Museum in downtown Austin, “Tu Dolor es Nuestro Color” mourns the Hispanic lives lost to Covid-19 in the Austin area.
The piece was created by El Paso artist Christin Apodaca to generate awareness that the Austin Latinx community has disproportionally suffered due to the Coronavirus pandemic, accounting for nearly 50% of virus cases and fatalities. The lives lost are “our grandfathers, grandmothers, fathers, mothers, wives, husbands, sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, cousins, dear friends.” The title translates as, “Your pain is our color.”
“It’s specifically people of color who are being affected. It’s large numbers and I want people to understand that,” said Apocada.
The piece was completed in October, 2020, aptly in time for Día de los Muertos, a vital Mexican and Latin American holiday that celebrates life by honoring those who passed before us.
Location: 419 Congress Avenue (Mexic-Arte Museum building)
Art by Christin Apodaca
Image credit: Sylvia Orozco, courtesy of Mexic-Arte Museum
“Ánimo Austin”
Artist Ulysses Cueto hands out a bit of cheerful encouragement as part the Mexic-Arte Museum’s El Mero Muro project, an initiative to increase the presence of Latinx art and culture in downtown Austin.
The project was funded through the Stand with Austin Fund, which helps nonprofits assist artists who were impacted by the cancellation of SXSW 2020.
Completed in May, 2020, this large-scale mural represents Latinx culture, life and love during the Covid-19 pandemic. A couple wearing face masks looks lovingly at each other while handwashing their face coverings.
The phrase “ánimo” urges us to stay strong and overcome our current challenges. “Keep pressing on, Austin! Don’t give up!” A welcomed message, indeed.
Location: 419 Congress Avenue (Mexic-Arte Museum building)
Art by Ulysses Cueto
Featured image of “Tu Dolor es Nuestro Color” by artist Christin Apodaca. Image credit: Andrew Anderson, courtesy of CBS Austin