Mural painted over for SXSW will be restored
East Cesar Chavez neighbors win fight to re-create depiction.
For more than a quarter century, the mural depicting the classic Mexican game lotería stood on a wall in the East Cesar Chavez neighborhood, a constant reminder of the area’s blue-collar and Chicano roots.
Earlier this year, however, that history was erased when a mural artist commissioned by South by Southwest painted over the historical art piece. Now, after months of contentious interactions, neighborhood residents have convinced SXSW to help restore the mural outside the Cycleast bike shop at 1619 E. Cesar Chavez St.
“First and foremost, we want to apologize,” Lizzie Brenner, a project manager for the festival, said at a neighborhood meeting Wednesday evening. “We didn’t do our due diligence about the mural and about bringing it here.”
Later in that meeting, festival representatives committed to providing financial support for recreating or replicating the mural. And on Thursday evening, the owner of Cy- cleast, Russell Pickavance, gave his approval to re-create the mural at its original location.
The mural was painted over as part of the SXSW Impossible Wall Project, which brought international and local artists together to create
large public works of art during SXSW.
The festival approached Pickavance of the Cycleast bike shop before the festival and offered to paint a new mural on the wall of his shop that faced Chalmers Avenue. Pickavance said he thought hard about the decision but ultimately decided to paint over the mural because he wanted to take ownership of his new location and create more public art for area residents.
In mid-February, Rone, an Australia-based artist, began painting a new mural over the “La Lotería” piece.
The backlash was fast and furious.
Neighbors complained to SXSW and to Pickavance, calling the destruction of the old mural a sign of the gentrification that has crept into East Austin in recent years, including the controversial demolition of an East Austin piñata store in February.
“I personally felt heartbroken,” said Bertha Delgado, 35, who has lived in East Austin all her life and whose grandfather is the namesake of Edward Rendon Sr. Park at Festival Beach. “We lost one of our historical paintings, and I was upset and felt disrespected.”
The mural was painted in 1989 as part of a cultural program with the city, said Felipe Garza, one of the artists who worked on the original piece. The work was supposed to reflect the culture of the neighborhood, and the artists chose to depict lotería, a card game played similarly to bingo, that was played by many of East Austin’s predominantly Latino residents.
Pickavance, who said he takes full responsibility for the decision to paint over the mural, said he did not know about the mural’s history.
“It is a very hard line to walk between progress and history,” said Pick- avance, who moved his bike shop to its current East Austin location last October. “And I’m right in the middle of it.”
After discussing the proposal to return the mural to its original location with members of the East Cesar Chavez Neighborhood Planning Team, Pickavance gave the project approval.
Although the effort is still in its initial stages and many of the logistics still need to be worked out, he said, “my goal is to heal this wound.”
Garza, who said he has been contacted by several neighborhood residents for the recreation of the piece, said he wants to add some new twists to the future project.
“Maybe I’ll update it with some new political messages, like immigration or other current topics,” he said. “I like the idea of a bulldozer going through it.”