Muralist brings ‘Hope’ to Paradise
Shane Grammer launches foundation to benefit locals in need
PARADISE » Muralist Shane Grammer, a Chico High graduate who has become known in Butte County for his work in Paradise following the 2018 Camp Fire, has teamed up with Foodie Cafe and Marcy Lord Specialty Desserts to launch the Hope Through Art Foundation. The 501C3 nonprofit entity will be, “devoted to broadening public awareness and education of social issues like human trafficking, homelessness while highlighting poverty affected areas and disaster zones,” it said in a press release.
Grammer painted his first mural in Mexico when he was 19, and later lead a creative team to paint in high human trafficking areas in Cambodia in 2010. In 2018, Grammer painted his first mural in Butte County on a friend’s burnt chimney. The mural entitled, “Beauty Among the Ashes” went viral in Butte County.
“That was really for locals a symbol of beauty when they lost everything,” Grammer said.
Since the Camp Fire Grammer, now a Los Angeles resident, has returned several times to Butte County to show his art. On Sunday he was at Nic’s Restaurant in Paradise to kick off the launch of his new non-profit as well as to sign and sell artwork. After his time in Paradise he headed down the ridge to The Foodie Cafe, a partner, for a second presentation and dinner.
“It’s always been in my heart to use my art in creative ways to bring hope to people,” Grammer said. “And when the Paradise Camp Fire happened I started seeing on Facebook images of what was left from a lot of my friends I grew up with… And I say from all the work that I’ve done my whole life, Paradise was kind of, it changed me just as much as it helped a lot of people.”
The Foodie Cafe happily partnered and hosted Grammer Sunday, according to owner Boyd Akin. Akin said that roughly one third of his employees, as well as Akin’s sister, lost homes in the Camp Fire. Their old location was across from Paradise High School following the Camp Fire, so conversations made the Camp Fire real and close to heart.
Boyd’s head chef Jonathan Baird was one of those employees who lost his home in the Camp Fire, and Baird said the work Grammers did for his community was very touching. When Grammer returned to town, Baird offered to host him for a meal at the Foodie Cafe. Grammer showed up with prints for staff and customers and stayed for two hours.
“What blew me away is they went up to Paradise the next day and sold out,” Baird said. “I was thinking they would’ve had more to sell if they hadn’t given so many away here, but we felt very thankful.”
Grammer said he has plans for the organization to launch worldwide, as he had plans to go to Australia following the fires as well as Beurit, Lebanon following the explosions. Unfortunately COVID-19 cancelled both of these. Grammer felt it was only right to come back to where his murals first started in Paradise to launch his foundation in which he hopes to bring hope.