Santa Rosa committee selects Desi Mundo for Colgan Creek mural
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Summary
The Art in Public Places Committee unanimously approved the selection panel’s recommendation to hire artist Desi Mundo for the Colgan Creek Mural Project, a $28,500 public-art project that includes tribal consultation and opportunities for design revisions.
The Santa Rosa Art in Public Places Committee unanimously approved the selection panel’s recommendation to hire artist Desi Mundo to create a mural along Colgan Creek, the committee decided at its Jan. 5, 2026 meeting.
Meredith, an arts staff member, introduced the recommendation and said the project budget is $28,500 and that four artists responded to the RFP. "The goals of this project were to beautify the public space, build community awareness, promote community pride, and support artistic expression," Meredith said during the presentation.
Selection-panel members and project staff told the committee that the recommended artist had the combination of large-scale mural experience and demonstrated ability to collaborate with tribal partners. Staff said the selected artist will have up to 10 hours to meet with members of the Graton Rancheria to refine cultural elements of the design; other city staff also may be involved in finalizing plant and fauna details. Chair Nathan Smith noted the artist’s technical skill, saying the artist was "clearly painting at a very high professional level."
After a brief discussion about what distinguished the chosen proposal, the chair called for a motion to approve the selection. The committee took a roll-call vote and approved the recommendation unanimously: Committee members Peters, Trejo Vasquez, Fuentes, Vice Chair Kiefer and Chair Nathan Smith each voted "aye." The motion carried.
Next steps described by staff include finalizing the artist contract, completing the limited tribal consultation hours and allowing for design refinements before fabrication and installation. Staff noted that some materials (site maps) were not attached to the agenda packet; counsel reminded the committee that any materials not publicly posted in the agenda should be shown only via public-facing sources to comply with the Brown Act.
The committee did not specify an exact installation schedule at the meeting; staff said they would return with implementation details as design and permitting progress.
