Students at John Adams Middle School repeated as first place winners in the 2012 LAPD and Automobile Club of Southern California Traffic Safety Mural Competition. The outdoor wall mural conveys to students a safety message about the consequences of street racing. Student-artists who conceived and painted the winning mural will be honored today at their school with a $1,000 check for their traffic safety efforts.
The traffic safety art competition requires LAUSD middle school art students to design and paint an outdoor mural depicting traffic safety awareness affecting their classmates. The $500 second place winner was Lawrence Middle School and third place with $300 went to Pacoima Middle School.
The winning mural depicts a street racing safety message with five children crossing the street at an intersection as two vehicles line up to race. As the kids cross, one student holds his hand up in hopes of stopping the vehicles from racing. The phrase “Help Us Stop Illegal Street Racing” is painted across the mural.
“The mural addresses a significant driving problem that directly impacts young people,” according Rick Lalor, of the Auto Club’s Special Events program. “John Adams students imparted an important message in paint to warn their peers of illegal street racing. The mural is well-done and eye-catching.”
LAPD West Traffic Division officers and the Auto Club will present a check, plaque and certificates to first-place students at 11:15 a.m. today (Tuesday, June 19) at the school, 151 W. 30th St., Los Angeles 90007 for raising traffic safety awareness among pre-teens in the 14th annual mural competition. Mural coordinator/instructor is Erick Altamirano. Principal Evelyn Wesley said 18 students created the large mural using donated supplies. Otis School of Art and Design’s Rebekah Kim and the Auto Club’s Lalor judged submitted murals.
The student-artists are: Cristal Venegas, Maria Guadalupe Torres, Graciela Castillo, Steve Alfaro Cardenas, Mark Abad, Ana Barrera-Morales, Enrique Bernardino, Leslie Corona, Stephanie Rizo, Jovanni Laguna, Christopher Aragon, Paola Carmona, Kathleen Castro, Stephanie Evangelista, Jackeline Gallardo, Esmeralda Garcia, Melissa Villegas and Yesli Perez Munoz.
“Students created an important traffic safety message for their peers about dangers of street racing,” said LAPD Officer Joseph Taylor. “The mural conveys this in a colorful way.”