Gaucho Think Tank, Isla Vista Community Services District and Santa Barbara County hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the completed street mural on Camino Pescadero and Pardall Road on May 19.

Founder and President of GTT and third-year physics major Sanjit Masanam cut the ribbon to mark the celebration. Shengyu Zhang / Daily Nexus

The mural was a collaborative project with Gaucho Think Tank (GTT), I.V. Community Services District (IVCSD), Santa Barbara County (SBC) and Chumash artist John Khus. SBC Board of Supervisors Second District Supervisor Laura Capps attended the ceremony and emphasized the importance of art and safety in the community. 

“Really this is about safety. The county really partners hand in glove with Isla Vista Community Service District, and as you’ve heard, it’s been great,” Capps said.

IVCSD Public Works & Sustainability Director Jenna Norton manages I.V. Beautiful, which works to promote art and beautification within the community. 

“It was such a fantastic partnership, and as everyone said, it couldn’t have turned out better. I knew the designs were beautiful, but actually seeing them here, they’re just absolutely stunning,” Norton said. 

Founder and GTT President and third-year physics major Sanjit Masanam explained the importance of not only beautification in I.V. but also emphasizing safety, which is GTT’s core focus. 

“We’re here to celebrate the culmination of all the hard work,” Masanam said. “I was also a bit worried about how much work it would all be to put this together, and I was not wrong.”

Masanam, Khus and Norton directed about 50 volunteers to help put the project together. 

“I think a big purpose of this was creating community, and yesterday that community happened,” Khus said. “It was fantastic. I don’t think that we ever would have imagined that it would come together so, so wonderful, and so it was a very unifying experience.”

Paris McCree, a second-year biology major, volunteered during the installation of the mural. 

“It was a very collaborative experience,” McCree said. “I never actually had that much fun painting on the ground before, so I think I had a great time, and I talked to so many more new people while doing something that I really enjoyed.” 

A version of this article appeared on p. 6 of the May 21. print edition of the Daily Nexus.