PRESS | SRJC student plans unity-promoting mural

Santa Rosa: Art to beautify park that’s been repeatedly vandalized

THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

By MYA CONSTANTINO

After a 150-foot long fence in a northwest Santa Rosa park kept getting vandalized with graffiti, 19-year-old Vijay Kareesan came up with a more permanent and attractive solution than just lathering it with white paint.

Kareesan, a student at Santa Rosa Junior College, will transform the 8-foot tall fence in Dutch Flohr Park with a mural featuring local landmarks, including the Fountaingrove Round Barn, Railroad Square, Armstrong Redwoods and Russian River, interspersed among images of joining hands.

It’s meant as a tribute to the unity of people from different cities that helped one another after the Tubbs Fire ravaged Coffey Park in 2017, and a reminder that the community should continue to stick together, especially during hard times.

“The mural is a reminder of the unity and resilience of Santa Rosa through hard times,” Kareesan said. “I hope people are inspired to keep the same spirit of

unity in the community.”

In October 2022, ideas for a mural at Dutch Flohr Park, a 2.38-acre public park located at 1160 Exeter Drive just five minutes from Kareesan’s home, began swirling in his mind. By November, the design was finished. He started sketching an outline along the fence in January, but his progress was put on hold because of the area’s series of storms.

It’s now expected to be finished by the end of June.

Murals, traditionally used to beautify public spaces, are used as a medium for political or social commentary, and to memorialize a historical event. It’s believed the concept of murals dates back to 30,000 B.C., to the earliest paintings as seen in the Chauvet cave in France. The style of artistry grew in popularity in the early 1990s and, today, is much more mainstream.

Kareesan started taking art classes in elementary school and continued and improved his craft ever since, he said. His art, a mix of paintings and drawings, are inspired by his culture and family who are from Tamil Nadu, India.

“My family’s culture really influenced me,” Kareesan said. “At first a lot of the stuff I would draw was based on my culture, then I started to incorporate more American and modern art and began creating my own style.”

Beginning sketch of mural in Dutch Flohr Park by Vijay Kareesan, a 19-year-old SRJC student and artist.

Growing up, the artist spent time researching different styles of Indian paintings from hundreds of years ago. He studied, practiced and tried re-creating the painting with different mediums, including sculpting.

He now wants to make a career out of his art by creating murals in different neighborhoods in Sonoma County. One area he wants to focus is Coffey Park, where the Tubbs Fire destroyed over 1,400 homes.

“I want to add color and art into parks that aren’t safe or don’t get a lot of love,” he said.

The up-and-coming artist applied for a grant through the city’s Art in Public Places Committee to help continue his work on the mural, he said.

“I hope people of all ages see the art work and understand the message,” Kareesan said.