Betteravia Campus

 
 

Valley of light

Nancy Jo Ward, 2021, Sculpture - Acrylic and Stainless Steel


Honoring the ecological and agricultural abundance of Santa Maria Valley, “Valley of Light” is made of seven tree sculptures whose branches have brightly colored leaves. At night, the leaves light up with LEDs to project fields of color into the environment. The sculpture is powered by sun energy stored in the solar panels at Betteravia Government Center, which also powers the campus buildings and electric vehicles.

This project was made possible by the County of Santa Barbara’s Percent for Arts Program, California Arts Council, and the City of Santa Maria.

 
 

santa maria Spectrum

Wayne Healy, 1989, Mural

Santa Maria Spectrum is a six-part mural unified by a rainbow pattern that stretches across the Social Services building facade. The bright bands of color illuminate various scenes of the region’s histories, cultures, and environments. People and wildlife, music and dance, and natural and agricultural landscapes are featured throughout the mural. Some maps of Santa Barbara County’s land grants listed with their place names and historical dates are also included.

Wayne Alaniz Healy cofounded  the mural team East Los Streetscapers in collaboration with David Botello in 1975. The collective emerged from the Chicano Mural Movement to create socially and culturally relevant public art.

Commissioned by the Santa Barbara County Arts Commission, this project was made possible by the County of Santa Barbara’s Percent for Arts Program.

 
 

california flowers: poppy and bud sequence

Juan Manuel Perez Salazar, 2020, Metal cut-outs

These site-specific installations were created for the facades of the Public Health, Probation, and Social Services buildings.

Native to California and found throughout the Santa Maria Valley, poppy flowers and buds are symbols of cycles of healing and new growth. “Together we cultivate our families and our towns. Juntos cultivamos nuestras families, cultivamos nuestros pueblos,” the artist affirms.

Commissioned by the Santa Barbara County Arts Commission, this project was made possible by the County of Santa Barbara’s Percent for Arts Program.