A new mural was unveiled today at San Diego International Airport (SAN), inspired by the city’s historic contributions to aeronautics and created with the help of local students.
The 60-foot-long mural, titled On The Map, features vintage San Diego aviation pioneers on a map-like design. It is the second of a three-mural commission by Jari “WERC” Alvarez, a former San Diegan and well-known painter and graffiti artist.
On The Map is located on the Harbor Drive-facing wall of the former Commuter Terminal, now the Airport Authority Administration building. In his commitment to the spirit of public art, WERC created On the Map utilizing input from both the community and the Teen Art Group of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego.
The new mural reflects the important contributions of female aviators and engineers to the field and references aviation legends like Glenn Curtiss and Lincoln Beachey. It also pays tribute to Consolidated Aircraft Corporation/Convair by depicting the iconic saw-tooth roofline of its original building on Pacific Highway. His goal, WERC has said, is to capture “man’s and machine’s power reaching beyond what’s possible.”
The mural is scheduled to remain on display through 2022.