Murals & Public Art
Yuma’s art and soul are out there for everyone to see, on the sides of buildings, divider walls, and other locations. Art is blooming in the desert, and more pops up around town all the time. Besides the more than 100 large-scale murals providing colorful visuals, public art from abstract sculpture to statues are placed all over town, too. Some of the most recent additions around Yuma even include pieces created by high school students.
The City of Yuma commissioned welding students to create “welcome” pieces at each entry point into the city. Using materials common to Yuma and fashioning them to look solid and historic are a nod to older structures here such as the Yuma Territorial Prison. The scaled-down replica of the prison’s Sally Port at the entry point on 4th Avenue, just a little south of I-8, displays iconic parts of the prison, from the rock walls to iron-slat doors. Visitors will also see other bits of the prison around town, too. Original iron-slat cell doors grace the entry to the Yuma Art Center’s back patio and several other locations in Yuma, including the Visitor Information Center, which is located in a historic building in downtown Yuma. (Visitors learn quickly that there’s a lot of civic pride in being a “Yuma Criminal.”) Other more modern sculptures adorn plazas, private businesses, or sidewalks in the downtown area, too. Roxaboxen brings imagination and creativity to a kid’s level, too, not far from downtown.
From young or up-and-coming local artists to those of international renown, visitors can learn more about each mural by using the Art Trail on Visit Yuma’s app. Vying for who came the longest way to paint a wall in Yuma, MOMO traveled to Yuma from Italy; Eltono is a Paris-born artist working around the world, and Adry del Rocio hails from Guadalajara, Mexico. Some of the artists’ themes speak to immigrant conditions, endangered species, environmental causes, or cultural pride, while others offer positive affirmation or just sheer moments of beauty. One artist who’s had her hands in much of the recent new mural work is Lia Littlewood, who has garnered local and statewide awards. She has painted over 100 individual murals around Yuma, as well as taking on an ambitious goal called the “Avenues,” where she hopes to create miles-long images along divider walls on Avenues C, B, and A over the next years.
Check out Yuma Art Center's Public Art Guide & Public Art Map
Day Trips
Yuma serves as the hub city for many communities and attractions around this corner of the Great Southwest. With Yuma at the center of your trip, there are many options for fun day trips around the Yuma area! Explore Old West abandoned ghost towns and mines, head out on adventures along the Colorado...
Read More