Phoenix artists have a long history of painting murals that call attention to social justice issues. Here’s a look at 15 metro Phoenix murals that bear important messages about racial equality, immigration, and more.
La Morena painted this mural, which honors murdered and missing indigenous women, near The Churchill.
Lynn Trimble
No More Stolen Sisters
Lucinda “La Morena” HinojosFirst and Garfield streets
La Morena, an artist with Latinx and indigenous roots, painted one of several murals in an alleyway next to The Churchill. The small-scale mural is meant to raise awareness about missing and murdered indigenous women.
Lalo Cota and Tato Caraveo painted this mural addressing gun violence, which is located at Carly's Bistro.
Lynn Trimble
We Can End Gun Violence
Lalo Cota and Tato CaraveoFirst and Roosevelt streets
Moms Demand Action and Carly’s Bistro commissioned this mural painted by Lalo Cota and Tato Caraveo on the eastern wall of Carly’s Bistro in Roosevelt Row. The mural includes Cota’s characteristic use of skeleton imagery.
Say Their Names Billboard
Karen FioritoGrand and 11th avenues
California artist Karen Fiorito created a new design for the Grand Avenue Billboard Project organized by artist Beatrice Moore. One side includes the faces of several Black victims of police violence. The other features a voting-themed graphic.
Hugo Medina led a team that painted this mural about immigrant rights near the Downtown YMCA.
Lynn Trimble
Immigration Murals
Hugo MedinaFirst Avenue south of Van Buren Street
Hugo Medina worked with community members on side-by-side murals addressing immigrant rights. One mural depicts a girl releasing monarch butterflies from a cage. The other features portraits of a diverse group of immigrants.
Artist bacpac created this mural as the nation protested the death of George Floyd.
Beth Hall Malapanes
The Price of Black Lives
Jeremie 'bacpac' FrancoOak and 15th streets
Jeremie “bacpac” Franco painted a mural addressing police brutality and the May 25 death of George Floyd. The design sets Floyd’s face in the center of a $20 bill, referencing the fact that police detained him for allegedly using a counterfeit $20 bill at a convenience store.
Unlocking Your Potential and Freedom
Lucinda “La Morena” HinojosCentral Avenue and Illini Street
La Morena painted this immigrant rights mural as part of a project called "Colors of La Communidad." The central image is a young field worker setting caged doves free, surrounded by butterflies that represent America’s Dreamer generation.
Black Lives Matter Mural
Multiple ArtistsThird Street south of Roosevelt Street
Six artists worked together to transform a wall in Roosevelt Row into a Black Lives Matter mural featuring the faces of several victims of police brutality. Artists painted different sections of the wall, using floral designs to separate the portraits that put a human face on the issue of racial justice.
School Violence Mural
Jeremie 'bacpac' FrancoOak and 14th streets
Jeremie “bacpac” Franco painted this mural that shows a student seated at a desk, with his face in the crosshairs of a gun. She painted the piece to raise awareness about the tragedy of school shootings.
Colibri brought artists together to address immigration for this mural on Grand Avenue.
Lynn Trimble
Colibri Mural
Multiple ArtistsGrand and 10th avenues
Several artists participated in this mural project inspired by the work of Colibri Center for Human Rights, a Tucson organization that helps to identify immigrants who’ve died in the desert along the U.S.-Mexico border.
This collaborative mural is one of several inspired by protests against police brutality.
Lynn Trimble
Love Fights Back
Multiple ArtistsVan Buren Street and 15th Avenue
Several artists worked together on this mural inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement. The artwork elevates the value of peaceful protest with images that reference the Arizona flag and landscape, as well as border-related injustice.
Section of Angel Diaz's mural created in response to SB 1070, which he painted behind Barrio Cafe.
Lynn Trimble
SB 1070 Mural
Angel Diaz16th Street Alley north of Thomas Road
Angel Diaz painted a mural with multiple scenes related to America’s history of racism, inspired by Arizona’s controversial SB 1070 legislation adopted in 2010 with support by former Sheriff Joe Arpaio, among others.
This mural on Seventh Street north of McDowell Street was painted after Dion Johnson was killed on May 25.
Lynn Trimble
Justice for Dion
Giovannie “Just” Dixon”Seventh Street north of McDowell Road
Giovannie “Just” Dixon painted a tribute to Dion Johnson, a Black man killed by a Department of Public Safety trooper in Phoenix on May 25. The small-scale mural pictures Johnson with a halo over his head.
Hugo Medina painted this mural, located at Palm Lane and 40th Street, depicting immigrant children being held in cages.
Lynn Trimble
Never Again
Hugo Medina40th Street north of McDowell Road
Hugo Medina painted a mural addressing Trump policies that have resulted in immigrant children being placed in cages. The mural includes imagery from the American flag, as well as children peering out from behind bars.
Say Her Name
Collaborative MuralFifth and Roosevelt streets
This piece is one of many new murals painted in a Roosevelt Row alley where artists have been painting different artworks for many years. The mural is one of several painted in Phoenix amid Black Lives Matter protests.
La Morena painted this mural, which addresses immigrant family separation, near the Arizona Capitol.
Lynn Trimble
Family Separation Mural
Lucinda 'La Morena' HinojosWashington Street and 14th Avenue
La Morena painted this mural near the Arizona State Capitol, in an area of Phoenix where protesters have often marched for social justice causes. The mural addresses the separation of immigrant families at the border.
