adding beauty to the town
In 2023, Mendota participated in community surveys and interviews through Community Heart and Soul. Many residents said they hoped we could have murals in Mendota as well as more arts and music celebrated.
In 2024 the City of Mendota received a National of Endowment of Arts (NEA) grant.
In 2025 the City of Mendota established an Arts Commission. Commission members apply and are appointed by the mayor. Commission members guide the development of public art in Mendota including murals, scultures and public art events.
Early June 2026. Two artists painted murals in downtown Mendota. Funding provided by the NEA grant. Mural sites are 728 Main Street and 725 Washington Street.
National Endowment of Arts Grant
The following artists were recommended to the Mendota Art Commission
for the murals being painted in 2026 which were funded through the National Endowment of Arts grant.
As the Commission continues to bring art to the city, they will be looking for others who can
paint murals, create sculptures, or bring other artistic flavor to the community.
Audrey Carver
Muralist for 728 Main St
Audrey Carver is a multidisciplinary artist based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She has been painting since she was a child, but transitioned into art/academic interdisciplinary work in high school at Idyllwild Arts Academy. She graduated summa cum laude from Tufts University in 2022, with a self-designed major in Scientific Communication. She has had both solo and group expositions in Cuenca, Ecuador, Palm Springs, Idyllwild, San Diego, and Boston.
She has worked as an artist-in-residence in Ecuador, and science communication fellow at Scripps Institute of Oceanography at UCSD, the Climate Science Alliance, Cabrillo National Monument, and Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve. As part of her work with the Climate Science Alliance, she has created artistic environmental education resources used by NASA JPL's SciAct project team, the National Park Service, the USDA, and several Tribal Environmental Education departments.
She was the curator for the 2023 San Diego Climate Summit art show, hosted by the San Diego Natural History Museum. She is currently the owner and lead artist of her own mural business.
Justin Suarez
Muralist for 725 Washington St
Born on a family farm in upstate New York, Justin Suarez is an aerosol and fine artist who celebrates wildlife with large-scale spray painted murals. His work immediately draws the viewer in by capturing magnificent movement over concrete and brick. With over 20 years
experience, he has painted murals across the US, and his work has been exhibited around the world. Justin Suarez brings the intensity of a
raptor to his artistic endeavors, as well as his work as a handler of birds of prey at Wild Wings Animal Sanctuary in Honeoye Falls, NY. In the fall of 2015, Suarez co-founded Roc Paint Division, the City of Rochester’s Youth Mural Arts Program. Roc Paint Division’s mission is to beautify City-owned spaces through mural arts while providing employment and training opportunities to young developing artists. Now in its 10th year, the program has enriched the lives of over 60 individual youth, allowing them to leave their mark behind to inspire future generations.
