Best known as a comedian and actor, Cheech Marin is also the preeminent collector of Chicano art in the United States—and a big fan of Art Center-trained South LA artist Jaime Zacarias, aka Germs. Germs' "grotesque yet amusing" tentacle-wielding, Luchador mask-wearing creations engage the viewers imagination and provide a complex visual vehicle for hidden images and layered references. Half an hour north of where he grew up the majority Hispanic city of Pacoima is home to Mural Mile and a growing gallery of outdoor art. In 2015 the Pacoima Entrepreneur Center—a non-profit with a rich history of assisting underserved communities develop small businesses—asked Germs to create this amazing work on the back of their facility at Van Nuys Blvd and Telfair Ave.  @germ_s/

Just left the homie @dazewst stacked! #artFestival ready!!! Let's get it! #lincolnparksandiego #artlife #muralmile #lincolnparkartsfestival #sandiegoartists #muralista #theinkandpaint #artwalls #sandiegohappenings #ucproject #IMMYOWNBLESSING #ART #mileofart #aerosol #spraypaint #cankillers #inkpaint

Frida and Diego. Mural by Levi Ponce and Mute One at Pacoima's Mural Mile.

At the beginning of the new millennium Pacoima Elementary School was ranked as one of the worst in California, but in the intervening years there have been two significant changes to the neighborhood (linked only by one mural). A new school principal and change to charter school status has transformed the school into one of the highest performing in the northeast San Fernando Valley, and a few years later local artist Levi Ponce gave residents even more reason to admire and take pride in the Van Nuys Blvd corridor that soon became known as Mural Mile. Before marrying Levi in 2017, Sarah Ackerley, aka Seraphim One, had published five successful children’s books, so in 2016 it was only natural that the two should combine their talents to create this Mural Mile work encouraging the aspirational dreams of Pacoima youth.  @seraphim_one  @leviponce  @pacoimacharter  @pacoimabeautiful  

Born to a sign painter and a seamstress, Levi Ponce says he started painting with his father when he was only three, and he’s been studying art in some form since childhood. In 2009 he began to paint and organize murals along Van Nuys Blvd. in his childhood neighborhood of Pacoima, and as the project—which eventually became known as Mural Mile—was quickly embraced by the community, within a year he found himself with more than 100 volunteer helpers. Explaining this 2013 mural at Lev Ave. and Van Nuys Blvd., Ponce told Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles  “Most people in the East San Fernando valley have little or no access to museums.” Pacoima can’t fly around the world to see Vermeer’s masterpiece, “Girl with a Pearl Earring,” so he decided to swap out the earring for something more culturally relevant and bring the girl to Pacoima.  @leviponce  

Jaime Acarias in Pacoima.

Repost from @visityorkcountysc • The latest installment of the #MuralMile Project 🖼 began this past weekend on Caldwell Street in Downtown Rock Hill! A big thank you to @yorkcountyarts, the Community Relations Council of Rock Hill and all of the local artists for bringing this work of art to life. We look forward to its completion next weekend! To discover more murals in York County, head to the link in our bio! ⬆️ 📸: @therockhilldroneguy https://www.instagram.com/p/CMdvCRQhv2D/?igshid=18p7z8hfilx6m