Large-Scale Mural Project Adorns Oakland Chinatown TOD Construction Fences
While the Chinatown TOD Senior Housing project enters construction at the entrance of Lake Merritt BART Station, developers EBALDC brought on local artists to adorn the construction fences along the site’s 8th and 9th Street frontages. Project artists Civic Design Studio worked with librarians to collect poems and sayings through patron and community engagement, incorporating these messages in the mural design as well as in the project’s permanent public art. The murals themselves were painted by Oakland art collective Illuminaries. Here’s a primer to some of the symbolism behind these works.
The characters beside the watchful tiger read, “live and work in peace and contentment.” The Vietnamese phrase “an cư lạc nghiệp” translates to settling down and establishing a career, implying stability and a secure life. In Cantonese, a similar concept can be expressed as 安居樂業, which also aligns with the notion of settling down and establishing oneself in a new place.
