A stretch of the Truckee River Trail in Tahoe City is getting a new look. Two large murals are being painted underneath the Truckee River Bridge as part of a project that has been more than three years in the making.
The concrete walls underneath the Truckee River Bridge have been part of the landscape for people walking and biking through Tahoe City.
Now, they’re becoming a canvas.
The nonprofit Arts For The Schools is leading the project, which brings together two teams of female artists.
“This is our big pivot into public art, and it’s huge, and it makes such an impact to see live art being put up and then kind of living there,” said executive director Lindsay McIntosh.
More than 500 community members helped select the designs.
One mural, The Light, by artist Frida Ticehurst, features mountains, native vegetation and water. All inspired by the changing light around Lake Tahoe.
“This mural is a way to showcase natural time… all the sunsets and all the sunrises and the moon rises and the moon sets and all of that beautiful light that happens in the area,” Ticehurst said.
The second mural takes a different approach.
Artists Bryn Merrell and Alex Bailey created A Dip Into the Truckee River Ecosystem.
It follows the river from Lake Tahoe to Pyramid Lake and features animals and other species found throughout the watershed.
“Our mural shows a cross section of the Truckee River. So you’re going to see different species that are important to the ecosystem out here and the environment surrounding the river. And you’re also going to see on the ceiling the extent of the Truckee River as it goes from Pyramid Lake to Lake Tahoe,” said Bailey, a scientific illustrator.
The artists said they spent months researching the species they wanted to include.
Merrell hopes the animals will draw people in, especially kids.
“I think people are going to be gravitated towards the animals. There’s such a fun aspect of the mural, and they make everything pop… I think people, adults and kids alike, will have a lot of fun learning about that,” Merrell said.
For Arts For The Schools, the project is also about expanding what public art can look like in a community that’s often associated with outdoor recreation.
The murals offer another way for people to connect with the region, McIntosh said.
“While we don’t need anything to beautify this beautiful, majestic place we live in, it’s just also nice to see art. I think this is kind of the beginning of some more nice public art installations,” she said.
The finished murals will be visible to people using the Truckee River Trail, turning a piece of infrastructure into a permanent public art space.
