The Story Behind The Winters Historical Mural Project

Since its founding in 2002, the Winters Participation Gallery (WPG), an arts nonprofit, has focused its support on emerging artists in the Winters area. What began as a brick and mortar organization, evolved into a “gallery without walls” when the Board decided to concentrate on murals created by students. Over the last five years, several Senior Capstone murals have been sponsored by WPG, and for the fourth summer, WPG is conducting a summer class titled “The Winters Historical Mural Project.” 

During the summer of 2018, the stunning mural on the east side of Lorenzo's Town and Country Market was created under the direction of professional muralist, Jaime Montiel. In 2019, Kate Humphrey, Winters High School art teacher coordinated the design phase of the project, and Jaime Montiel along with Cel Galabasa oversaw the implementation stage on the east and north walls of Winters Laundryworks. That mural depicts laundry through the ages and focuses on the diverse cultures that have been a part of Winters history. 

For 2020, following the safety protocols of the CDC due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Winters Participation Gallery, and eighteen students painted the east wall of the John Rogers building which currently houses the Winters History Museum.  That mural depicts the many uses the John Rogers building has served over the years, including the offices for the Army Corps of Engineers who were in charge of building Monticello Dam for the Bureau of Reclamation.   The building also served as the Winters judicial chambers and courthouse, the branch of the Yolo County Library, the offices for the Winters Express, a barbershop, and the offices and visitors center for the Winters Chamber of Commerce. The mural also documents the Japanese families leaving Winters for the internment camps during World War II and the Black Lives Matter rally at Rotary Park, incorporating aspects of past and present social justice issues.

The impressive mural at the Corner of Railroad and Grant on the east wall of the Winters Market is the product of the 2021 Winters Historical Mural Project.  Kate Humphrey once again guided students in the design phase and Jaime Montiel and Cel Galabasa coordinated the student-painters during the implementation phase.  Many aspects of Winters history are celebrated on this most-recent mural, including three businesses that occupied the corner in the mid-20th century.  One of those businesses is still operating!