Five Murals in Six Days: Artist Brian Peterson and Scholarship Prep South Bay Bring Color to Wilmington

Walk down Avalon Boulevard in Wilmington this month, and you'll notice something new: two graduates in cap and gown, painted 20 feet tall, looking out over the street. Turn the corner onto Lomita Boulevard, and you’ll be greeted by a hip-hop dancer, a basketball player, and an esports gamer, all rendered in the same bold, colorful style.

These are the five new murals at Scholarship Prep South Bay, completed this month by artist Brian Peterson over six days on campus. We sat down with Brian as he wrapped up the project to talk about the work, the community, and what he hopes these walls will mean to our Scholars.

Bringing Color and Life to Campus

Brian, who is based in Miami but paints murals across the country, said the project started with a simple conversation.

"I had a great discussion with Principal Allison Vann about how she wanted to bring color and life to the school and the campus, and even the street-facing walls," Brian said. "And I think because of the proximity of these murals to the street, we've had a ton of community engagement."

That engagement showed up in ways Brian didn't expect. While painting from a lift one afternoon, he heard a car horn honking repeatedly.

"I turn around, and a man stopped his car in the middle of the street, got out, and started yelling, 'Yes, yes, yes!'" Brian recalled. "Come to find out this man's an artist right down the street from here, has a studio, and has been hoping that murals would end up on Avalon somewhere. He feels like this is the start of something special, where maybe the arts will take a foothold in this community."

Murals With Meaning

Every mural was designed with a purpose. Brian said the project needed to accomplish two things.

"We needed color. We needed lots of color," he said. "And the second thing, probably even more important, is that we wanted children to actually be able to see themselves in their goals."

That idea shaped where each mural landed. The two graduates on Avalon Boulevard represent a goal every Scholar is working toward. The murals on Lomita Boulevard, a hip hop dancer, a basketball player, and an esports gamer, reflect programs Scholars enjoy as part of their everyday experience at South Bay.

"The internal walls are actually a hip hop dancer, which is a staple of a program here within these walls, a basketball player, and most recently, which I think is a cool one, an esports gamer, which is obviously a growing field for young people," Brian said.

A Style Still Evolving

Brian described his artistic style as a blend of two approaches: sharp, geometric lines and softer, more organic shapes.

"When I started, I was heavily geometric, only straight lines," he said. "If you look at the dancer, the movement in her clothing is all strictly geometric. There's a lot of motion there. But if you look at her skin and her face, there's soft shapes that complement that. I'm really intrigued with this idea of blending the hard shapes with the soft shapes, just working in that juxtaposition. I think it adds a lot of interest to the art."

A Gift to the Community

As the project wrapped, Brian reflected on what it meant to leave a piece of his work in Wilmington.

"I just want to say how grateful I am to bring my talents and a little bit of my legacy to the campus here at Scholarship Prep," he said. "I truly hope these murals inspire the Scholars that attend this school, and I'm really wishing them a great 2026-27 school year."

We couldn't agree more. Scholarship Prep South Bay is a free TK-8 charter school, and these murals are a colorful, public-facing reminder of what happens inside our building every day: Scholars learning, growing, and building the skills that will carry them toward their own graduation day. We're proud to be part of the Wilmington community and an LAUSD-authorized charter school, and we're grateful to Brian for helping us show it.