Pathways of Hope: Public Art at Freeway Scale
One year ago today, we completed Pathways of Hope. A look back.
Freeways divide. Art connects.
Beneath the I-710 in Commerce, California, we were asked to transform the spaces people move through every day—underpasses and walkways most people rush past without a second look. Pathways of Hope is what they became. One 15,000-square-foot installation, and the largest art installation in Caltrans District 7 history.
We started where we always start—by listening. The people of Commerce told us who they are. Michael gave it form.
At Triggs Street, the underpass opens into a trompe l'oeil gateway, concrete turned into another world. Belonging honors Antonio Ramos and the 1979 "Homeboy Crow" mural, carrying Commerce's own history forward. The Model City traces the city's industrial past into its future in Art Deco. And when residents asked for a safer walk through the Bandini pedestrian tunnel, we answered with Walking in a Flower Wonderland—a passage of poppies.
Two and a half years from RFP to completion. Five months on the walls. Design to fabrication—entirely ours.
We documented the journey in Concrete Gallery, our documentary debut. KTLA News featured the work.
This is what infrastructure becomes when art leads. This is placemaking.
