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A new three-paneled mural depicting activists, revolutionaries and an astronaut has popped-up outside the South Oxnard Branch Library.
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Painting began with a kickoff event on May 17 where community members were able to contribute and learn. Community members continued to work on the mural until it was completed on June 26.
“Art is for everyone,” the City’s Cultural Arts Manager Julie Estrada said. “Regardless of people’s perceived opinion of whether they’re artistic or not, we make it so that everybody can be part of the canvas.”
Estrada said the project involved informal discussions with library staff and the community to select who to feature in the mural. Diana Reyes, Oxnard Cultural Arts analyst and the project’s lead artist, said the figures portrayed in the mural were chosen to reflect the community.
“My goal was to get the kids or the community to pass by and question like, ‘Who are these people? What’s their story about?'” Reyes said. “Hopefully, they can either find a connection or identify with a little bit about what these people have been through.”
The left-most panel depicts a young Ruby Bridges, the first Black child to desegregate Louisiana schools in 1960. Reyes said she chose Bridges as a reminder of the sacrifices people have made to achieve progress.
The center panel depicts two figures: José M. Hernández and Rigoberta Menchú.
Hernández, who orbited Earth in the International Space Station for almost 14 days in 2009, was born in California to a family of migrant farm workers and moved between the U.S. and Mexico as a child.
Menchú, who is from Guatemala, received the 1992 Nobel Peace Prize for her advocacy for social justice and reconciliation for indigenous peoples, becoming the first indigenous person to receive the honor. Reyes first read Menchú’s autobiography as a child and emphasized her choice to paint her in traditional clothing.
“If she looks like a relative, or if she looks like a neighbor, or if she looks like the lady that sells flowers nearby, I feel like that’s really important because you typically don’t see people that are highlighted like that in murals,” Reyes said.
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The right-most panel depicts José Rizal, who Reyes described as a “national hero” in the Philippines for his contributions to their independence. Reyes said she has seen multiple people from the Filipino community “stop in their tracks” upon recognizing Rizal’s image.
Reyes said the mural has received some “racist comments” from passersby, including one individual asking if they would include any white people. Otherwise, the project has been embraced by the community.
The project is part of Oxnard’s Mini Murals Program under the Cultural and Community Services Department and is paid for with money from Oxnard’s general fund. According to Estrada, the program has created 180 pieces of art since its formation in 2020, including 146 murals.
Library Outreach and Programming Supervisor Claire Mattoon said library leaders plan to incorporate the mural into programming such as children’s story times and heritage celebrations.
She added that because Oxnard’s public libraries and cultural arts are both branches under the Cultural and Community Services Department, coordinating the project was largely “seamless.”
“I feel like it really emphasizes our cultures in the areas,” said Julia Martinez, an Oxnard resident and teen volunteer who helped paint the mural. “Everyone’s very, very happy about it, and they feel very seen with all these murals being put out. And… it makes me feel good that the community really likes them.”
Levi Kauffman is a summer intern for the Ventura County Star. He can be reached at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Three-panel mural outside Oxnard library showcases history, heroics
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Reporting by Levi Kauffman, Ventura County Star / Ventura County Star
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This story was originally published July 6, 2026 at 5:30 AM.