Que Sera
1923 E 7th Street, Long Beach, CA 90805
The nightclub Que Sera has been under current ownership since 1977. Translated from the French meaning “What Will Be,” Que Sera shares a building with several other businesses, including a music store and a discount store. The building sits on the corner of Cherry Ave and E 7th St, with the mural-covered façade of Que Sera facing E 7th St. Street traffic is higher than foot traffic, but the building does sit on a bus route. Pedestrians should be advised to walk with caution, as the sidewalks are narrow.
The surrounding area is dotted with both small businesses and residential buildings. Homes in the area consist of one and two story stand-alone structures. Along the narrow sidewalks, a significant number of these buildings are in disrepair or are completely boarded up. Visitors are within easy walking distance (0.2 miles) from E 4th St, where Shane Sun’s 2018 POW! WOW! mural “Empathy as Survival” is located.
Written by Amelia Nixon
Source: https://queseralb.wixsite.com/queseralb
2018
Open Your Door
On the façade of the nightclub Que Sera, the mural “Open Your Door” reaches from wall to wall, covering even the building’s doors. POW! WOW! Long Beach commissioned artist Shantell Martin to paint the mural for their summer 2018 festival. “Open Your Door” is easily visible from either side of E 7th St, and visitors may want to view the mural from a distance as well as up-close to see smaller details. Please be advised that cars travel at higher speeds along this street.
Although the pattern of “Open Your Door” is deceptively simple, visitors discover more and more details viewing the mural. Words make up a significant part of Martin’s artwork, and in this mural there appear words including “life,” “music,” “don’t hide,” and “be more.” One also sees faces formed from the white lines, as well as stick figures. Martin says that the stick figures in her art symbolize how “we can all participate in art.”
Martin created “Open Your Door” with only two colors, black and white. She started with a solid black background and used white spray paint to add lines, shapes, and words to the mural. Many of the muralists for POW! WOW! Long Beach used a crane to reach the higher portions of their murals, but at the beginning of the day, Martin’s crane did not work. Despite this setback, Martin only needed approximately two hours to complete “Open Your Door.” The owner of Que Sera was there to witness Martin paint the mural, and upon its completion hugged the artist and offered her thanks. Martin says of the short time it took her to complete “Open Your Door,”
“…it’s about movement, it’s about being fluid, it’s about getting it out as quick and as honest as possible, which I enjoy.”
Written by Amelia Nixon
Source: https://streetiam.com/shantell-martin-art-que-sera-pow-wow/
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