Mural honoring history of significant neighborhood gets new review

A former resident of Indio’s John Nobles Ranch neighborhood has proposed a $55,000 mural project that would honor the historical African American community and its namesake while telling the history of the people who have lived there.

During Tuesday’s meeting of the Indio Public Arts Commission, Morelia Calderon was back to present more details about her vision for a large-scale mural that would be painted between Monroe and Arabia streets on John Nobles Avenue. The project would stretch across approximately 7,000 square feet on four different walls.

“John Nobles became the first African American in the 1930s and 1940s to move to the Indio area and became a landowner in a time when that was unheard of,” Calderon said ash she presented to the Commission. “John Nobles Ranch became a mecca for families seeking a stable place to live.”

Calderon, who grew up in the neighborhood, has partnered with San Diego-based artists Paul Jimenez and Signe Ditona, who founded Ground Floor Murals, to create the artwork. One panel design shown Tuesday showed a school bus traveling through a desert landscape, symbolizing community movement and unity.

“The central image is a school bus travelling through our desert landscape, symbolising both movement and unity,” according to the artist’s proposal. “As the bus moves from the left to the right, it fills with people from our community, representing different generations and cultural moments.”

The design would incorporate portraits of community members who have made significant contributions to the neighborhood, including teachers, pastors, coaches and mentors.

Jimenez, who joined the meeting via Zoom, explained how public art has transformed communities in his hometown.

“I’ve seen how big of an impact it’s made here in my city,” Jimenez said. “I tend to focus on areas that could really use the facelift and just use the love.”

Calderon told commissioners she has spent more than two years developing the project, securing approval from about 80% of residents who live near the location of the proposed mural. So far she has collected 65 historical photos from community members.

Calderon also announced that Sancho’s Landscape Construction Company has agreed to donate services to improve the sidewalk area along the mural site.

The $55,000 funding request would come from the city’s public arts fund. However, the project is not currently in the commission’s work plan or budget for the current fiscal year.

Commissioners expressed interest in the concept but requested to see the complete design before making any decisions. The commission took no formal action on the proposal, as staff explained it would need to be considered for inclusion in the next fiscal year’s work plan and budget.

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