Downtown Pasco murals will soon be colorful tributes to Latino community and culture
Pasco is looking for ways to bring a splash of color and culture to its downtown streets — and could transform the area into a new hub for murals.
An initiative led by the city’s Arts and Culture Commission will reimburse business owners up to $5,000 if they get murals painted on their buildings by the end of December.
The last big mural painted in the downtown area was the Community Hope Wall at the site of a 2015 traumatic police shooting.
It was finished in November 2019 outside the former Vinny’s Bakery, where Antonio Zambrano-Montes was killed during a confrontation with officers.
While the incident left a painful mark on Pasco and the Tri-Cities community, the Community Hope Wall mural was intended to be an emblem of hope and healing.
But the mural had to be partially painted over just a year after it was unveiled because it exceeded the city’s sign size limits.
The Arts and Culture Commission formed the same year and set out to help change that sign code.
The city has since created a separate regulation for public art and murals that became official in August 2023.
Now, there are no size restrictions, so murals can take up a full wall on the side of a building.
But the changes didn’t immediately spark anyone to start painting.
“We did get feedback that it would be beneficial to have some funding source to start the process,” said Assistant City Manager Angela Pashon.
“One of the components of the plan is to really infuse arts and culture into our downtown,” she said. “We’re trying to bring that component to life with this program.”
A majority of businesses in downtown Pasco are owned by Latinos and nearly 56% of Pasco’s population is Hispanic, according to 2022 census data.
Many events — from Cinco de Mayo to the Pasco Farmers Market and September’s Fiery Foods Festival — are centered around Hispanic culture.
Murals created as a result of program could highlight that important heritage.
The new program is funded by the city’s hotel and motel tax, and the city set aside $20,000 for it.
City officials hope four to six murals come out of the initiative.
“This puts the creativity and opportunity in the hands of the business and property owners, rather than the city going out for a call for artists,” Pashon said.
The murals must be preapproved by a subcommittee of the commission before painting can begin. Mural designs cannot advertise a business and are not allowed to include obscene, offensive or discriminatory content.
The commission’s next project is to add public art at Pasco City Hall.
“We would like to be known as a creative and cultural space, so when you come to Pasco, you feel what Pasco is,” Pashon said.
All murals also must be covered with an anti-graffiti coating and maintained for at least five years.
More information about the Paint Pasco Mural Reimbursement Program can be found on the city of Pasco website.
This story was originally published September 1, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
