Mural, mural on the wall. Which is your favorite of them all?
With more than 200 public art works mapped out on the new Santa Barbara Public Art Map, providing an engaging look into the city’s collection of public murals and artworks, now’s the time for you to weigh in and vote for your favorites. Found right under our noses in many cases, our city functions as a kind of vibrant outdoor museum — no entry fee required. And now, thanks to a new initiative from Santa Barbara Beautiful (SBB) and the Santa Barbara Arts Collaborative (SBAC), there’s an easy way to explore them all and help elevate your favorites for even further recognition.
The interactive Santa Barbara Public Art Map is complete with photos, locations, artist info, and clickable links to many of the artists’ websites, celebrating the city’s creative spirit while making it all more accessible to experience in person.
The creation of the map was a collaboration between Sullivan Goss Gallery owner Nathan Vonk and Santa Barbara Beautiful Board member Melinda Mettler, who created a document of our city’s murals in 2024.
This whole initiative is part of a community-wide campaign that aims to recognize and highlight the impressively diverse array of art that enriches the city’s public spaces, from murals to sculptures and beyond.
From September 4-24, community members are encouraged to visit as many public art works as they can and then vote for their favorites as part of the 100 Years of Santa Barbara Public Art initiative, which will culminate with the announcement of the community’s favorite artwork during Santa Barbara Beautiful’s 2025 awards ceremony on September 28.
See sbartscollaborative.org/public-art-map for the PDF Murals of Santa Barbara guide and the interactive Santa Barbara Public Art Map. There’s no better time than now to start exploring Santa Barbara’s vast, free public art landscape.
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