Shane Grammer’s artwork can be found in cities in Mexico, South Korea, Dubai and beyond. In the past year, it’s the murals he painted on battered walls throughout Paradise, California that garnered attention and struck an emotional chord with viewers.
The Chico native returned to Butte County a month after the Camp Fire destroyed towns like Paradise and neighboring Concow. He was living with his family and working in the Los Angeles area when he saw accounts of the destruction on his friends’ social media pages. After he saw a photo of a friend’s home, which had been reduced to a brick facade with only a chimney standing, he was compelled to paint it.
That black and white painting of a woman was the first in his series of murals around Paradise. Some of the portraits were tributes to people affected by the fire, others depicted Biblical characters. They were all temporary, torn down as part of the town’s clean-up.
Shane Grammer joins Insight to discuss his work in Paradise and residents’ reactions. On Saturday, Nov. 9, Paradise Alliance Church will host We Stand Together, a free community event. It will feature a Family Fair with midway games, a petting zoo and other kid-friendly activities. It will also feature keynote speaker Tim Tebow, magician Justin Flom and a live mural painting by Shane Grammer. We Stand Together is scheduled from 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Park Alliance Church, 6491 Clark Road in Paradise.
Shane Grammer’s work is also currently showing at Capital Public Radio through Jan. 3. To see it, visit Capital Public Radio during office hours at 7055 Folsom Blvd. in Sacramento.
Camp Fire Events
The We Stand Together community gathering is Saturday, Nov. 9, 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Paradise Alliance Church, on Clark Road in Paradise. Tickets are available here.
And then on Sunday, in Paradise, there is an event called Joy Will Find A Way at the Paradise Performing Arts Center on Nunneley Road. This event celebrates Butte County’s resilience through the arts. Students wrote a collaborative poem called “A New Dawn,” detailing their hopes for the future. Paradise High School students will perform a reading of that poem.
