Raised on the east side of Riverside, California, artist Juan Navarro’s public murals celebrating the area’s Latino community are a common feature across the city. For many, they are a beacon of pride as Latinos grapple with the fallout of President Trump’s deportation agenda.
Yet Navarro, 31, says despite the deep cultural wellspring that inspires his work, growing up he was encouraged to hide his Latino heritage.
“I have a stepfather who was multi-generational Latino. So, he was very, like, Americanized and kind of pushed me to even change my name from Juan to John. So, a lot of my childhood it was, ‘Don’t say you’re Juan or don’t speak Spanish,’” recalled Navarro.
It wasn’t until high school that Navarro learned to embrace his roots. Art provided the vehicle.
Surrounded by graffiti, he was drawn to the colors and shapes that defined his neighborhood. At home, he sketched constantly, despite the criticism he received. “You’re not from the street. You shouldn’t even be drawing like that,” his stepfather would say. At school, teachers confiscated his sketchbook.
For Navarro, who began to go by Juan at this point, the experience was a formative lesson in the tension between mainstream attitudes toward graffiti and his own view of the art form as an assertion of belonging.
During this period, Navarro volunteered with a Riverside Community Health Foundation program that enlisted high school students to clean and beautify Eastside alleyways long marked by neglect and crime. The work didn’t stop at cleanup—students also transformed the walls with murals. For Navarro, it was the perfect chance to share his art with the community, and before long, he was drafting mockups and pitching ideas for new pieces.
La Eastside Art House funciona como un espacio colectivo donde artistas de diversos orígenes se reúnen para crear, intercambiar ideas y construir una comunidad. Photo Credit: Roxsy Lin
Impressed by his drive, organizers commissioned five murals in the same area. His success led to a mural project at Patterson Park in partnership with the Riverside Parks and Recreation Department, which recognized the urgent need for safe spaces in the community. The effort culminated in the park’s renovation.
“It’s always been about having community be seen, but not only seen, you’re leveraging my work to advocate for resources that that community really needs,” Navarro said.
Still, the criticism continued, this time from fellow artists. “They were like, ‘You should be making your own art, why are you having the community paint with you?’,” he said.
Navarro’s answer is evident in projects like “Grandma’s Quilt,” which incorporates pieces of fabric and personal objects shared by neighbors, a deeply personal work that embodies the connection between art and community.
Another community collaboration, the Park Avenue Storefront Revitalization Project, involved more than 200 volunteers who joined forces to paint a series of murals that gave local businesses a new look. The initiative not only brightened the commercial corridor but also earned the Old Riverside Foundation’s Neighborhood Revitalization Award, underscoring how art and community pride can reshape a neighborhood together.
Since then, Navarro’s work has gained recognition both locally and nationally. He served as artist in residence at the Riverside Museum of Art from 2019 to May 2025. During that time, he worked on various projects, such as “Hecho in Park Avenue,” an exhibition at the Cheech Museum that brought together local artists who reflected on everyday life in the Eastside community, covering topics like civil rights, female entrepreneurship, LGBTQ+ themes, and local Chicano culture.
The exhibit received recognition from the California State Senate for uplifting stories in the historic neighborhood.
In 2023, the Riverside Art Museum nominated Navarro for the National Medal for Museum and Library Services in appreciation for his contributions to the local art scene. He was selected as an honoree and later traveled to the White House to receive the award.
Navarro’s commitment to driving positive change through art led him to launch the “Eastside Arthouse,” which functions as a collective space where artists from diverse backgrounds gather to create, exchange ideas, and build community.
For Navarro, the goal is simple: to provide a space where artists can, in his words, “be who they want to be,” allowing them to evolve in their practice while cultivating lasting connections with fellow artists.
One of those artists is Rosy Cortez, who received mentorship from Navarro and went on to become a muralist in her own right. Her work has been displayed at the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture, and her mural “Still Here,” created across the street from Riverside’s Historic Courthouse with the participation of local Native communities, honors the enduring bond ancestral cultures maintain with the land.
Still, despite his success Navarro says he is sometimes criticized by other artists for not being vocal enough in denouncing Trump’s anti-immigrant policies. Over the administration’s first eight months, the U.S. has seen record numbers of people held in immigrant detention, with deportations and raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) continuing to terrorize communities across the country.
“From their perspective, I’m not being radical enough because I’m not being emotionally distressed online,” said Navarro. “I’m getting artists writing me, ‘You’re not doing enough with the Eastside House. You’re not a strong enough advocate.’”
Rather than respond publicly, Navarro says he has chosen to handle these pressures in a more private, personal way—by supporting friends and family through these difficult times. That has included being asked to represent friends’ children in case their parents are deported, a reminder of the emotional toll this moment continues to take on the artist and his community.
The Riverside Art Museum created a guide (https://riversideartmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Park-Avenue-Arts-District-Brochure-1.pdf) that includes a map of Navarro’s murals. It’s an experience worth pursuing for anyone who wants to explore his work across the city.
English Photo Caption 1:
English Photo Caption 2: Juan Navarro receives the 2023 National Medal for Museum and Library Services at the White House. Photo Credit: Shannon Finney / IMLS
Spanish Photo Caption 1: El mural “La Colcha de la Abuela” (Grandma’s Quilt”) incorpora retazos de tela y objetos personales compartidos por vecinos. Crédito de la foto: Roxsy Lin
Spanish Photo Caption 2: La Eastside Art House funciona como un espacio colectivo donde artistas de diversos orígenes se reúnen para crear, intercambiar ideas y construir una comunidad. Photo Credit: Roxsy Lin
