Certificate of Appreciation -- Angel Quesada -- to be presented by Mayor Pro Tem Mike Martinez and to be accepted by the honoree (me)
see city of Austin's agenda page for FEB 25th


see the images of the mural here, then click the right side of the image to see two other pictures

To see New Works in the "paintings" & "murals" secions
Click here to visit the Gallery or just click the navigation above.

To see my CV click here.

At the beginning of November, artist Lannea Brooks and myself were taken into police custody for painting a botanical mural at 2828 Lyons Road in East Austin.

We wanted to beautify our neighborhood and for approximately three months I worked undisturbed painting what I thought was a tasteful mural. Then our well-intentioned artwork went awry.

Then, on October 24th, police were apparently notified by a concerned neighbor that we were vandalizing public property. The resident, (known by some longtime neighborhood residents to posses a rather sore disposition), was irked that we didn't answer to their shouting as they drove past while we worked as I later gathered. At various times of the day in our neighborhood you have to deal with folks yelling from out of their cars for whatever reason. I was a little worried that the person, who did not identify themselves or even stop their car, was looking for trouble and I was focused on the job at hand.

As continued painting the bright flowers, shortly there afterward police arrived and apprehended us, charging us with a felony for graffiti! The officers at the scene called a supervisor and asked how to proceed as the scenario had perplexed them. Three police vehicles with lights flashing and engines running for about an hour lit up the quiet neighborhood. The officers photo documented the mural and about an hour later revealed that the charges were going to be a Misdemeanor Class "A" due to a miscalculation of length.

I spent only 18 hours in county jail being released with a PR Bond while poor Lannea was moved to Del Valle detention facility where she spent another four days in lock up.

After getting out, motivated by the potential of more jail time and a steep fine, we took action and set out to make things right by studying up on city policy. Meanwhile, the mural had been left in a half-finished state and I became determined to finish it. Hitting the streets and knocking on every door in the mural's vicinity we collected over a hundred signatures from the surrounding neighborhood; one neighbor, Abe Louise Young, serendipitously wrote for the Austin Chronicle and invited us in for an interview.

Once citizens caught wind of the story about the arrest many were incensed. I created a petition to help counter the charges. This petition was spread virally throughout Austin and other parts of Texas amassing another 900 names. Many who added to the story's momentum were ACLU Central Texas Chapter president, Debbie Russell as well as Women and their Work's program director Rachel Koper, Matt Flener of KXAN, reporter Noelle Newton of KVUE, Calvin Johns of "InCite Magazine," Vicky Garza of the Austin Times, along with many, many other community members who had something to say in this conversation.

The topic was indeed a sensitive one, so I proceeded to City Hall to see what my options were before going to trial. I notified the office of Mayor Pro-Tem Mike Martinez and members of the Art in Public Places (AIPP) Office, personal contacts of mine who I'd been acquainted with through my work at Mexic-Arte Museum and the Mexican American Cultural Center. Martinez's office has even drawn up plans to hold a benefit to help us defray the costs and allow us to create another mural in a prominent location.

In the middle of all of this, I had set about getting lawyer, getting my vehicle out of the impound yard, and just building my case. I applied for a official donation through AIPP, coordinating with several city agencies and an insurance company to facilitate proper permitting and complete the mural that caused all the commotion. The Right of Way Management Office (ROWMAN) requires procuring a surety bond of $5,000 dollars as well as possession of a $500,000 liability insurance policy to simply be on a public site, so all of the stories out there about how easy it is to get a permit are rather convoluted.

The permit is now well within my grasp. I have planned for a week-long window in the month of December, provided that the application for donation of the mural was reccomended by the AIPP panel as well as the Arts Commission.

My first meeting before the panel was held on December 7th. I pleaded with panel members to accept my mural donation as a part of the "Cultural Heritage" collection, in essence, seeking permission to complete the work and offering to maintain it myself to relieve the burden of the limited AIPP maintenance resources and defray the cost to the city.

The panel was split with some members wanting to make an example of me and set a precedent as well as "control the conversation"; after all, they are charged with being the body who decides who gets permission and who does not get to do public art in Austin. Since I did not get their express permission to paint, a couple of the panel members brought up a point about the mural not being "community" enough and wanted more community input before they would give their approval. Some even admitted to having done an illegal mural in the past as well! Others held the perspective that I had been punished enough and wanted to see the mural completed. Their opinion being that my experience and history of work was consistent with a "community-first" motivation.

In the end, the discussion ended without agreement. No decision made other than to shelve the matter entirely and reconvene in February. In the meantime, my efforts will not be in vain. The matter is now one of integrity. I must complete the work!

The Arts Panel is a body that makes recommendations to the Arts Commission, so I moved to send my case before the latter and formally requested to Austin Cultural Arts Program Manager Vincent Kitch that I be accepted onto their agenda. I am on a timeline due to financial implications. I later received a reply stating that I am to be on the agenda before the Arts commission. I go before the Arts Commission December the 21st at 5:30. If my mural donation is accepted by this official body, I will be able to commit to finalizing my permit and getting down to work to finish the mural!

I have come to truly understand what "community" means within the setting what took place . . .
the charges of graffiti against me have since been dropped. I suppose that there is really no end to this conversation about public art, (sorry AIPP). Instead, I see a starting point for Austin's citizens to help shape a beautiful future with OUR city. I'm not suggesting that everyone go out and paint a hundred murals all over Austin at the same time, (imagine that) but rather, to be a part of what is happening with OUR city's visual landscape. Attend the monthly public city arts meetings, shape the conversation, listen to what is being said, and take action in OUR neighborhoods and create the dream of Austin! If anything, I hope that what has transpired will be remembered with a flavor of contribution to community.

Yours,

Angel Quesada

To see links referring to the aforementioned story see this page

I've been working on turning the artwork into a donation to the city of Austin and have procured all of the necessary permits and am covering all of the expenses. I went before the AIPP panel and participated in a very political discussion about the mural. At this point it is a matter of integrity to finish it! Thank you Debbie Russell for your follow through, I plan to follow through as well!

from the "Whispers" section of InFactDaily.com:

Is it art? Is it legal? . . . Artist Angel Quesada, jailed by city code inspectors for his art on a public bridge on Lyons Street, took his case to the Austin in Public Places committee last night. Quesada pleaded with the committee to accept his artwork into the city’s Art in Public Places program, so Quesada could enter into an agreement with the city to finish his mural. The committee was split between members who didn’t want to quash creative art in Austin and those who did not find it appropriate to reward Quesada for ignoring the city system for public art. The commission, charged with encouraging public art but respectful of city codes, split on the issue and decided to try to craft some compromise in February, a compromise that will be forwarded to the Arts Commission. Quesada did not lack for publicity coverage of his situation, which was viewed with cynicism by some commission members.