Women's Suffrage Mural Downtown Fresno California by Will Portis

"Art is Business" Mural honoring women's suffrage unveiled in Fresno by Miranda Adams.

Posted: May 1, 2026 / 06:32 PM PDT/ Updated: May 1, 2026 / 06:33 PM PDT

The artwork can be found at 1350 M Street and was sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Fresno through the Measure P Arts Grant.

FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – A new mural celebrating the history of women's suffrage will be unveiled in Fresno on Thursday.

The large and colorful piece was created instead of the 19th Amendment events that were canceled in 2020 due to COVID. However, from the temporary setback, a mural was born that will live on to honor the suffragettes who worked to guarantee the rights women have today.

The local artist who painted the mural, Will Portis, also used the opportunity to emphasize the years of grassroots efforts for voting rights by populations originally excluded from citizenship. 

Will Portis began his career in art while still in high school as a display artist for the Goodrich Tire & Rubber Company. Since then, he has created hundreds of works of art, both for commercial clients and as a private fine artist. Mr. Portis is an accomplished portrait artist and a master of landscape art. In addition to his paintings on canvas, Mr. Portis' work can be seen on the numerous murals he has completed over the years.

Will Portis, who describes his style as "natural realism" and "abstract realism," has been hailed by many as a modern renaissance artist. His paintings have been noted for their dramatic lighting and for bringing out the character of his subjects.

Mr. Portis attended the University of Akron for Fine and Commercial Arts and holds a Master's Degree in Education. In addition to being a working artist, Mr. Portis is also available for private instruction.

Studio Location

4866 E. Florence St.

Fresno CA 93725

Phone/Fax: 559.485.4626

Cell: 559.906.3090

willportis@yahoo.com

Ashley Gets Sneak Peek at Mural You Can Help Paint!

California State Railroad Museum Foundation and Partners Launch

"Community Mural Engagement," Project Managers, and mural team: Shonna McDaniel's, Alpha Bruton,  Markos Egure, Henry "Fisko" Fisk, Judah X. Pimentel. Aisha L. Abdul Rahman, MLIS, Ph.D. Archivist & VR Curator

Carly Starr (she/her) │ Special Projects Manager, California State Railroad Museum Foundation

Kim Whitfield,  Chief of Interpretation at The California State Railroad Museum

Sacramento, CA (Wednesday, October 9, 2024)

Sojourner Truth African Heritage  Museum proudly announces our participation in the California State Railroad Museum Foundation and the California State Railroad Museum's Community Engagement project. The Sojourner Truth African Heritage Museum facilitated two "Community Mural Input Sessions" on Saturday, July 20, at 10 AM and on Friday, July 26, at 5:30 PM, at the Stanford Gallery, 111 I Street in Old Sacramento.

We gathered community input that reflects the oral stories and images of the California Railroad. The project will conclude with an installation featuring 2D and 3D art, land/earth art, and technology-centered art, delivered through community engagement activities. This will be held at the California State Railroad Museum.

The California State Railroad Museum — your museum — is the keeper of stories. Together, we collect them, we preserve them, and we tell them. Share your railroad stories and connections.

https://www.californiarailroad.museum/my-story

ABOUT 

California State Railroad Museum Foundation

The California State Railroad Museum Foundation (CSRMF) is an official cooperating association with California State Parks and a 501(c)(3) organization. It provides funding for the ongoing support of numerous programs at the California State Railroad Museum in Old Sacramento and Railtown 1897 State Historic Park in Jamestown. The CSRMF's mission is to generate revenue and awareness for its destinations while supporting the preservation, interpretation, and promotion of our railroad heritage.

Sojourner Truth African Heritage Museum 

Sojourner Truth African Heritage Museum (SOJO) offers programs and services that educate youth, families, and the community about diversity, inclusion, and history through hands-on art-making, cultural opportunities, and educational experiences. Our mission is to open minds and change lives by exploring and celebrating African American history, experiences, and culture through art, wellness education, and outreach.

# # #

Final Approved Draft for Mural "Past/Present/Future of Innovation & Invention"

Wall construction by Ra West Construction Company

Community Paint Day Old Sacramento 

 RA West and Markos Egure of Artners

The Team: Shonna, Juda, Fisko, Aisha, and Markos

Fisko with a volunteer 

Shonna and Judah are in front of the line work outlines of the mural.

Activities took place in the Hardware Store.

Collaborations with partnering Sacramento History Museums. 

Youth from the Rose Foundation, Cross-Sector partner.

Markos giving instructions, Cross-Sector partner ARTNERS

 Aisha L. Abdul Rahman, MLIS, Ph.D. Archivist & VR Curator

Director Legacy Design Studio Concept for AR/VR 

EARTH DAY CELEBRATION AND KICK OFF OF THE FLORIN ROAD COMMUNITY BEAUTIFICATION PROJECT

"Art is Business" https://www.florinroadcommunitybeautificationproject.org/

 “The Florin corridor is one of our City’s hidden gems, and I’m incredibly excited to see this continued investment in South Sacramento. In cooperation with community institutions like the Sojourner Truth Museum, Florin Square, and the Florin Road Partnership, we’re proud to continue building a vibrant, resilient, and authentic community through strong workforce programs, community events, and supporting our local businesses.”

The City of Sacramento is inviting Sacramentans to the Florin Road Community Beautification Project kick-off on April 8 in South Sacramento (2251 Florin Road).

The event, which runs from noon to 6 p.m., will include a community paint day with artists, music, food, informational booths, and educational games.

The beautification project is funded with a $1.2 million CalTrans Clean California grant. The project will improve a stretch of Florin Road from Tamoshanter Way to Franklin Boulevard through public art, beautification efforts, public outreach, and youth engagement.

“We want this stretch of Florin Road to reflect the vibrancy of the community it houses,” said the City’s Office of Arts and Culture Program Coordinator, April Breis. 

“We’re excited to celebrate the start of this large project and look forward to involving the community throughout the process.”

The event is free, and people can register for it here. It is hosted by the Sojourner Truth African Heritage Museum in partnership with the City of Sacramento Office of Arts + Culture and Department of Utilities, Florin Road Partnership, Florin Square Community Development Corporation, and SMUD.

The project will have more events, including a large public art installation.

STILL SEARCHING Art Exhibit - by Artist Damon Lamar Reed

"Art is Business" Join artist Damon Lamar Reed in his quest to bring missing Black women in Chicago home through the Still Searching project. Bit.ly/still_searching

 STILL SEARCHING Art Exhibit - The Artisan Collective - South Shore Chamber of Commerce by Artist Damon Lamar Reed

About this event

This Black History Month, experience a vivid series of portraits of missing Black women and girls in the Chicagoland area at the Still Searching exhibit by Damon Lamar Reed, a prolific Chicago hip-hop artist, and muralist.

On February 25, between 6pm - 9pm, join to learn more about this project, raising awareness about missing black women in Chicago. See the portraits and then catch a sneak peek of the upcoming documentary on the project, which has received funding from Hulu through the Hulu/Kartemquin Accelerator Program.

This event is free to the public with a suggested donation of $10 per attendee. Proceeds from prints, raffles, and donations will go to the Still Searching project to support public artwork that raises awareness of missing women in Chicago.

Refreshments will be served.

About Damon Lamar Reed

There's truth to the saying that a picture is worth a thousand words. Artist Damon Lamar Reed brings that truth to reality. From hip-hop to public art, he strives to create messages that reach the depth of the human condition.

After graduating from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Damon began his career as an artist and entrepreneur. To date, he has created over 280 public art projects, including works for Super Bowl 46, Showtime(The Chi), Gatorade, the Chicago Blackhawks, Ticketmaster, and Sears, to name a few. His work is featured in books such as Kym Pinders', Painting the Gospel: Public Art and Religion in Chicago. During the George Floyd riots, the BBC featured Damon's art's impact; recently, News Nation, ABC, CBS, WGN, and NBC featured him because of his latest series, Still Searching, where he paints portraits of missing women in Chicagoland. He is also filming a documentary with the same name backed by Hulu, Kartemquin Films, and Still, I Rise Films.

Bronzeville Art District November Virtual Open Studio, Cesar Conde

"Creative Conversation", artists speaking about their art practice, November 20, 2020, focuses on

 Open Virtual Studio, "Creative Conversation"- Artist Cesar Conde.

"in·sight /ˈinˌsīt/ the capacity to gain an accurate and deep intuitive understanding of a person or thing:

intuition, perception, awareness, discernment, understanding, ... "

Cesar Conde 

Cesar Conde was born on September 23, 1963, in the Philippines. He came to Seattle in the early '70s when his family emigrated to the United States. Both his parents were white-collared professionals. Conde went to a public school in Seattle and was part of the first busing integration program. However, his first year of schooling was in Chicago's west side, where he was exposed to African-American, Latino and Polish communities. He grew up pressured to assimilate into the American culture in order to survive.

Travel exposed Conde to different cultures, which is reflected in his art. He learned to draw in Florence, Italy, and studied painting in Monflanquin, France.

Exhibitions:

Southside Weekly said "Conde's art is an art that does, and when looking at his portraits, one cannot help but feel that art can and must do things for us, that it must be strong, not flimsy. Indeed, that is Conde's whole goal: to remind us of the hard truths under the surface of our biases and judgments, lest we forget what happened to Trayvon," Jake Bittle, November 20, 2013

His work is featured in the Chicago Contemporary.

 "The film". 13 November 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2016.

 "Cesar Conde Art". Archived from the original on 23 April 2011. Retrieved 15 February 2016.

 "South Side Weekly"

 "Chicago Contemporary". Archived from the original on 12 March 2016. Retrieved 15 February 2016

Coming soon.  Join us on December 18m, 2020  7pm - 8pm

Phantom Gallery: http://bit.ly/Phantom_Tour Meeting ID: 859 7433 6882

 Virtual Open Studio featuring:

Renee Baker- Experimental Film 

Post Modernism:

Lois Stone

Phillip Cotton

The Phantom Gallery will look at how the city influences art, and artists transform the city by contributing to civic dialogue and quality of life. These installations will produce "Creative Conversations" presenting artists speaking about their art.

2020 Program virtual gallery openings will focus on Examining the State of Our Environment- and having conversations with artists in their studios. 

The aim of the Phantom is to examine changes in current curatorial production and to develop innovative displays in relation to virtual spaces. "Curatorial Practice" explores the impact of the urban environment on the artist and their work, and the contributions that artists make to the vitality of a city. The place where art is imagined and made, whether in a physical or virtual space, affects the idea, the process, and the final product. 

B. Ra-El Ali Thunder Zoom Virtual Open Studio Artist Interview

BRael Ali Thunder

https://www.facebook.com/brael.ali

BReal Ali  

http://www.braelali.com/

B'RAEL ALI THE ARTISAN

BRAEL.ALI13@GMAIL.COM

773-494-2391

IG: BRAELALITHUNDER

FB: BRAELALITHUNDER

TWR:BRAELALITHUNDER

SOUNDCLOUD: BRAEL THUNDER

https://phantomgallery.blogspot.com/2016/07/black-experimentalism-let-us-examine.html

My title B’Rael Ali is an affirmation that I use so that I always remain conscious of my spiritual identity and purpose. My purpose being a creative force sent from the cosmos, a bringer of truth.  I was born on the south side of Chicago and I have lived much of my life in the urban City. I am a graduate of the Southern Illinois University of Carbondale achieving a BFA in Painting and Drawing. I am also a spoken word artist. My artwork and poetry are infusions of urban life, history, and social commentary. I believe that knowledge of self is the true answer to anyone’s individual struggles because gaining it has improved my life tremendously. My artwork and poetry serve as a form of education, displaying the lessons and philosophies that help me during my struggles in order to help others through their struggles as well. Art is my language, Art is my way of solving the problems of today in order to create a better future.

 Much of my artwork features dancing figures. Dance is the physical cultivation of the Spirit through mental release and rhythmic processes. Dance historically, and contemporary is a large part of African and African American culture being used for ritual purposes, ceremonial, as well as social. My artwork depicts those traditional uses of dance through 2D drawings on paper that are enhanced with acrylic paint and pastels. I use the dancing figure as a creative vessel to express African American culture and issues. Through compositions designed from the figurative image of the dancer, I compose narratives that describe the African American experience, largely addressing identity, reconnecting African Americans to their African ancestry. The collaboration of symbols new and old creates the persona of "Afrofuturism" in my work, allowing my art to become ritual. 

The Phantom Gallery will look at how the city influences art, and artists transform the city by contributing to civic dialogue and quality of life. These installations will produce "Creative Conversations" presenting artists speaking about their art.

2020 Program virtual gallery openings will focus on Examining the State of Our Environment- and having conversations with artists in their studios. 

The aim of the Phantom is to examine changes in current curatorial production and to develop innovative displays in relation to virtual spaces. "Curatorial Practice" explores the impact of the urban environment on the artist and their work, and the contributions that artists make to the vitality of a city. The place where art is imagined and made, whether in a physical or virtual space, affects the idea, the process, and the final product. 

Join us on December 18th, 2020 for our final installment of Virtual Open Studio featuring:

Renee Baker- Experimental Film 

Post Modernism:

Lois Stone

Phillip Cotton

Artist Finally Gets Her ‘Seat At The Table’

"Art is Business" Reposted/ By Genoa Barrow | OBSERVER Senior Staff Writer

Local artist and museum founder Shonna McDaniels hope her new mural "A Seat At The Table," painted as part of the Wide Open Walls project, will uplift the community.

At the time, numerous calls to City Hall by people who would today be called Becky or Karen prompted a heated community town hall meeting about inclusion. In the end, SMUD, sponsoring the art installation, cut the check and chopped the project.

Ms. McDaniels never stopped fighting for a seat at the table for herself and other local Black artists. She's the founder of the Sojourner Truth Art Museum and is a vocal advocate for more diversity, of artists and images, in public art opportunities.

This week, it was a full-circle moment as she completed the last stroke on a mural for the Wide Open Walls project. Ironically, the towering ode to Blackness was created on the wall of a SMUD substation. "A Seat At The Table" is located in Midtown at 1430 19th Street.

"I cried," she said of the opportunity. "I literally cried like a baby because this has been a long time coming."

The mural was inspired by African actress Lupita Nyong'o. Featuring a dark-skinned woman as the focal point was deliberate for Ms. McDaniels, who wants the image to "uplift" her community. The large-scale painting took Ms. McDaniels and a team of enthusiastic fellow artists and volunteers less than a week to complete.

"I have so much support. Artists from all different genres have come out to help. We've had performing artists, dancers, visual artists, just so much support," she said.

As they filled in Ms. McDaniels' vision, area residents stopped by to admire the work in progress. They marveled at the detailed African pattern whose bold, orange lines draw in the eye and the eyes of a Black woman who seemed to mesmerize them from her high place of distinction on the wall.

Hundreds of residents and tourists, primarily White, stopped by to see the mural being created. There were often supportive honks from drivers-by.

She and a family-friendly group of volunteers received a very different reception a decade ago.

"Art is a peaceful act and then we had all these people driving by and calling us ni**ers and monkeys and asking us who authorized us to 'paint those aliens (Black people) on the wall.' The kids were traumatized," Ms. McDaniels recalled.

While she's created plenty of art since then, the incident is as fresh in Ms. McDaniels' mind as a new coat of paint, but she's glad recent calls for equity and social justice have painted a different picture.

"What a difference 10 years makes," she said.

"A Seat At The Table" is the second Wide Open Walls mural for Ms. McDaniels. Another, a tribute to the Ndebele women of South Africa, is located at 3217 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Oak Park. Other Black artists with murals added in 2020 include Brandon Gastinell (1616 J Street), the late Michael Mcdaniel (917 7th Street), Nosego (1730 L Street), Brandon Alexandr (7th Street and Improv Alley), and Leecasso, whose tribute to late Congressman John Lewis and "Black Panther" actor Chadwick Boseman can also be found at 7th Street and Improv Alley.

With "A Seat At The Table" finished, Ms. McDaniels, is focused on her next project, expanding her museum space in South Sacramento. Expansion, she says, will allow for more Black art to be displayed and showcased in new and innovative ways.

By Genoa Barrow | OBSERVER Senior Staff Writer

Artist Shonna Mc Daniels / 10 yr Sacramento flashback and 2020 “A seat ...

"Art is Business

"WIDE OPEN WALLS MAP. Filter by year location, or click “Surprise me!” to learn more about the murals and the artists behind them in the Wide Open Walls Mural Festival. Due to COVID restrictions, we are not offering any tours now. Please Take yourself on a tour by adding murals to a custom Sacramento mural tour. 

Ms. McDaniels has contributed to over 150 murals to the landscape of Sacramento, Stockton, and San Francisco. These collections can be found in Sacramento Unified School District, Sacramento Arts Commissions, County of Sacramento, Florin Business Arts Complex/Sojourner Truth Murals Project. 

Before 1996, Shonna McDaniels was one of the co-founders and artists of the Visual Arts Development Project (founded in 1988). McDaniels taught art classes, conducted workshops, and organized art exhibits throughout the Oak Park and Del Paso communities.   She has donated art to various organizations and helped raise money for charitable causes throughout the Sacramento Region.  She has over 25 years of community involvement with various organizations that support the arts through exhibitions, artist residences, community activism, community murals, and organizing community-based festivals in South Sacramento.

Popular mural wiped out in Fresno's Tower District

"Art is Business" Mural District Guidelines (Copyright ©2012 KFSN-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved)

Carlos Saucedo, Fresno, Calif. (KFSN) -- A popular mural painted on the wall of a Tower District business has been wiped out by the property owner because of a misunderstanding.

The Tower District is known for its colorful and vibrant murals along the walls of businesses, but one art piece that became a cultural icon along the side of the Tower Theatre is now a blank canvas." But for a white wall, to trade a mural for a white wall, that's a loss," said Josh Wigger. Wigger is the artist whose mural was painted over. Five years ago, the city and owner of Palomino's restaurant paid Wigger $700 to create the work of art as part of a beautification project.

"I don't think that anybody really understands exactly what the ramifications were. It was a very innocent mistake," said Bill Kuebler, the director of Tower District's Marketing Committee. He said the property owner of the Theatre - who did not want to go on camera - did not realize the mural's significance when he decided to remove it."They quite innocently, frankly, just decided to paint over the wall because the building needs a new paint job and I think that the idea was that we were going to put a new mural up," said Kuebler.

"I think they should have researched it or actually found out who had done it. I mean, it's kind of ignorant on their parts to not do that," said Wigger. The decision came when Palomino's restaurant closed, and the theatre was making changes for new tenants. But residents in the area aren't thrilled."That's what people come down here for, the authenticity of the history of this neighborhood, and now a little piece of, how should I say, it's not that old history, but something that should have been history has now been erased," said local resident Betsy Dituri.

Despite the misunderstanding, Wigger said he'd be willing to work with the Tower owner to create another mural that embodies the district's cultural richness.

Bronzeville Lofts PopUp Gallery Installation "LIBERTY"

Liberty Acrylic on canvas 94 X 74” 

Helen Myers Jones

By juxtaposing the statue of liberty with the peace symbol, I want to open the question of the varied factors behind the myths of peace and freedom.

Myths and symbols prevail everywhere in our environment, and they greatly influence us. More than we realize. The Statue of Liberty symbolizes enlightenment, justice, freedom, beauty, mystery, strength, and pride. However, amid these grand ideas, our country is overflowing with urban violence, bad politics, and fears of war and terrorism.

Libertas, the Roman goddess of freedom, has been honored and worshipped for more than two thousand years, and who does not recognize this symbol of liberty? She is as well known abroad as she is here at home. Is she more than a beautiful paradox?

Liberty’s promise of freedom is a vision that many are still seeking. This is why I have my liberty share the stage with her twin sister, who raises her clenched fist to symbolize freedom and the will to struggle for it.

Helen Jones Mayer

October 2010