Mac Partners - Phoenix, AZ

Curation - Production

Following our collaboration in Los Angeles, Mac Partners decided to reach back for another landmark building in their portfolio; The Heard in downtown Phoenix. Partnering once more with Nevercrew on a similar formula of interconnected murals displayed throughout the property, we decided to focus on the history of The Heard as the past home of various predominant media enterprises - two local newspapers and a radio station.

‘El oso plateado and the machine’ evokes how communication can become tangible and real when used to interact and connect and how it can be especially potent to raise self awareness on our acts-past and present-and their impact.

Blending their interest for machines and devices and their passion for environmental causes, the main mural speaks of communication as a tool for remembrance while paying a poignant tribute to the Mexican Grizzly (Ursus arctos nelsoni), a bear that used to inhabit Arizona and is now considered extinct. The second and third pieces that live in the building’s alleyway and lobby built on details from the first piece to embody more directly communication in its various forms.

The facade artwork remains one of the most predominant and visible murals in downtown Phoenix and is still celebrated for its beauty and meaningfulness.