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a colorful big foot painted on the column of a pedestrian bridge

Investing in placemaking

Grassroots projects with solutions for creating safe, inclusive and thriving communities.

2017 grants awarded
A safer Jade
Cultural waterkeepers
A black history festival
2018 grants awarded
Tonga Day
Bilingual storm drain murals
A community oven
Bridge murals
Kid-curated art museum
 

Where does the water go? Bilingual storm drain murals in Tigard, Hillsboro tell the story

Placemaking mural image depicting the Mayan Rain God Chac

Artist Linda Dalal Sawaya, who was selected to design and paint a storm drain mural in Hillsboro, drew inspiration from Mayan culture. She depicted the Mayan rain god Chac. 

Placemaking mural image depicting the relationship between water, people and animals

Artist Kanaan Kanaan said the center of the mural represents the sun, from where everything else on the mural radiates.  He hopes the message in the painting inspires people to be stewards of the water.

Artist Linda Dalal Sawaya with Juan Carlos Gonzalez in Hillsboro

A portrait of artist Linda Dalal Sawaya with Juan Carlos Gonzalez, who is Centro Cultural’s development and communications director and a Metro councilor-elect. Photo courtesy of Tualatin Riverkeepers

Artist Kanaan Kanaan smiles next to his mural in Tigard

Artist Kanaan Kanaan smiles next to his storm water drain mural. For nearly a week, he painted the piece on Tigard’s Main Street.

Placemaking mural image depicting the Mayan rain god Chac and a river
Tualatin Riverkeepers placemaking mural on Main Street in Tigard
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Where does the water go? Bilingual storm drain murals in Tigard, Hillsboro tell the story

Sept. 21, 2018 9:48 p.m.

With the support of Metro’s Community Placemaking grant, two new murals in Tigard and Hillsboro highlight how different cultures value water.

The sidewalks look very different near Main Street in both Hillsboro and Tigard. Where previously there were gray concrete pathways, now two bright and colorful murals adorn the pavement.

Both murals wrap around nearby curbside stormwater drains that carry away rainwater and runoff. Both murals bear one simple message, written in three languages: Drains to the Tualatin River.

This past year, Tualatin Riverkeepers commissioned two murals to promote awareness and stewardship of the Tualatin River and the surrounding lands that drain into it.

The tributary snakes throughout Washington County, passing through Cornelius, King City, Tigard, Durham, Tualatin and even West Linn.

Both drains connect to the river, even though they are in different cities 12 miles apart.

Tualatin Riverkeepers is a recipient of Metro’s Community Placemaking Grant program, which encourages people to reimagine public spaces and create changes within their neighborhoods.

Tigard mural in English and Arabic

In Tigard, Tualatin Riverkeepers worked with the Muslim Educational Trust to commission a piece that celebrates the Muslim community.

Artist Kanaan Kanaan painted a stormwater drain next to Fanno Creek, which eventually drains to the Tualatin River. The mural is partly influenced by the tessellations in Islamic art. The overlapping and interconnection between people, animals and the environment inspired him.

“We cross paths,” Kanaan said, “and the crossing and the congregating, that's the intersection, where we could create something new. And I'm really hoping that is something new and beautiful.”

  • A man outlines a mural on a sidewalk
    Artist Kanaan Kanaan outlines the mural, creating intersections where lines overlap. Kanaan was inspired partly by the geometrical patterns found in Islamic art.

  • A man paints a mural beside a painted school bus
    Artist Kanaan Kanaan works behind his brightly-colored painted school bus. He worked in the mornings, trying to avoid the August heat wave.

  • A man paints a mural on the sidewalk in Tigard
    Artist Kanaan Kanaan fills out the silhouette of a deer. Other wildlife he chose to depict are beavers, fish, a squirrel and a raccoon.

  • A placemaking mural has a message that says "drains to Tualatin River"
    “The drain storm here, drains to the creek, drains to the river, and… we are drinking from that river and there are creatures that are dependent on the river,” Kanaan said.

  • Artist Kanaan Kanaan talks with a Tigard business owner
    Artist Kanaan Kanaan chats with Paul Vu, who owns a business near the mural. Vu is passionate about the environment and likes the message of the mural.

  • A placemaking mural on the sidewalk in Tigard
    The mural is complete. “I feel like I want to do the whole sidewalk," said artist Kanaan Kanaan. "People ask me, are you going to do the whole side walk? I wish!”

Hillsboro mural in English and Spanish

In Hillsboro, Tualatin Riverkeepers worked with Centro Cultural de Washington County to produce a mural that celebrates the cultural heritage of the Latino community. 

Artist Linda Dalal Sawaya featured a rainbow over the Mayan rain god Chac as he pours water down the drain. “And in the water are two stylized fish to represent wildlife and nature that rely on the river for their life and their health,” she said.

  • An artist paints a mural on the sidewalk in Hillsboro
    “I love the Tualatin River,” artist Linda Dalal Sawaya said. “I started kayaking the river... And I have been very much aware of the issues around water and the environment for many years.” Photo courtesy of Tualatin Riverkeepers

  • The Mayan rain god Chac is outlined on a mural in Hillsboro
    To honor Latino culture, Sawaya chose to depict the Mayan rain god Chac on the storm drain mural in Hillsboro. Photo courtesy of Tualatin Riverkeepers.

  • Artist Linda Dalal Sawaya smiles next to her placemaking mural
    The mission behind the storm drain mural project spoke to Sawaya. "I came to Portland because of the rain,” she said. Photo courtesy of Tualatin Riverkeepers

  • A placemaking mural on the sidewalk in Hillsboro
    To remind people about where our water goes, Sawaya painted the Mayan rain god Chac pouring water down the drain. Photo courtesy of Tualatin Riverkeepers

  • Artist Linda Dalal Sawaya paints a mural in Hillsboro, surrounded by onlookers
    Sawaya felt gratified by compliments from passersby. “I had many, many people say how wonderful it was and asked if other storm drains on the street were going to be painted as well,” she said. Photo courtesy of Tualatin Riverkeepers

  • A placemaking mural in Hillsboro, depicting the Mayan rain god Chac
    The storm drain mural with the Mayan rain god Chac debuted in Hillsboro in early September.

Creating a public mural is a quick and inexpensive way for a communities to visually represent themselves, according to Ben Stone, director of arts and culture at Smart Growth America.

“You can't necessarily get people together and talk about the design of the architecture in the neighborhood,” Stone said. “That takes much longer, and takes much more money and time to put together.”

He said placemaking projects, such as these two murals, can help neighborhoods celebrate their unique culture and assets, and distinguish themselves from other places.

“It's become more evident that public art, sculptures and murals are really all about representing the community's values,” Stone said.

They often represent who is in a neighborhood, he said. In this case, the storm drain murals celebrate culture while underscoring the importance of taking care of our land and water.

Learn more

Visit our Community Placemaking grantees page. 

Metro’s investments, such as these placemaking grants, are strategically focused to help local communities create or sustain the vibrant places envisioned in the Region’s 2040 Growth Concept. 

The work of the Community Placemaking grant recipients aligns with Metro's strategic plan to advance racial equity, diversity and inclusion. 

Read the strategic plan:

PDF iconStrategic plan to advance racial equity, diversity and inclusion
4.99 MB Adobe Acrobat PDF Published Jun 13, 2016

Previous: Part 6

Tonga Day

With support from Metro’s Community Placemaking grant program, an emerging grassroots organization turned a Northeast Portland park into a Polynesian festival.

Next: Part 8

A community oven

The young people of Supa Fresh Youth Farm know what it’s like to plant seeds and watch them come to life – literally and figuratively. They recently built a community oven with support from Metro’s Community Placemaking grant program.
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