What: South Seattle College Mural Celebration Party on June 3, 2026
Celebrating the unveiling of the Tori Shao mural at South Seattle College!

We are delighted to announce the unveiling of our second annual mural project, designed by Seattle artist Tori Shao and painted by South Seattle College ART204 Mural Painting students and the South Seattle College and West Seattle community.

Mural design, art, and story by artist Tori Shao. Painting of the mural design was completed by South Seattle College ART204 Mural Painting students and community, led by mural painting class art faculty Scott Méxcal.

When: 1-3 pm Wednesday, June 3, 2026
Where: Olympic Hall Courtyard, South Seattle College,
6000 16th Ave SW

Music and refreshments provided, with traditional birria from Jalisco, Mexico. Sponsored by Division for Access, Community, & Opportunity.

Who is Tori Shao?
Tori Shao is a Seattle-based muralist, illustrator, and landscape architect whose work explores the many ways in which we connect with the world around us, whether through nature, the built environment, or the stories we share. Raised in Seattle, Tori is inspired by the layered histories, diverse ecologies, geologies, and native flora and fauna of Washington state. These form the foundation of her artistic vision, shaping work that celebrates the richness of place and the interdependence between people and the environment. Tori’s artwork blends ecological observation and cultural storytelling with elements of fantasy, transforming familiar environments into spaces of imagination and discovery. Through vibrant colors, dynamic compositions, and dreamlike storytelling, she explores themes of community, growth, connection, conservation, and diversity.

Since 2020, Tori has expanded her practice into the realm of public murals that illustrate these themes on a grand immersive scale. She creates welcoming spaces that nurture curiosity and joy while celebrating the unique identity of each place and community. By weaving together color, storytelling, and design, her goal is to illuminate the ecological and cultural systems that connect us, fostering collective appreciation, empathy, imagination, and stewardship for the places we call home.

See more of Tori’s work here.

About the design:
For the South Seattle College mural, Tori created a lush temperate understory scene in which a nurse log is the central figure, supporting life by nurturing new plants, fungi, and organisms as it slowly decomposes. Sunbeams shine through the canopy onto the nurse log and the understory, supporting new cycles of forest succession. Western red cedar, Douglas fir, and bigleaf maple make up the main structure of the forest, with foliage texture throughout the background. In the foreground, native understory plants are rendered in greater detail including salmonberry, mayapple, sword fern, salal, trillium, and red huckleberry. The nurse log is proliferated with licorice fern, moss, and western hemlock saplings.

The nurse log symbolizes how education functions as a foundation for growth–just as the decaying log provides nutrients and structure for new life, a college community provides support, resources, and knowledge that help students develop to be better prepared for the next step in their lives. The nurse log and surrounding elements reflect cycles of renewal, shared resources, and interconnected communities.

About the project
The layout and painting of the mural was led by full time art faculty Scott Méxcal. Twice a week, Scott facilitated a class built around the layout and execution of the mural, during which students learned how to use various grid methods to draft the outlines, paint at a large scale, and polish the design with final details. Outside of class hours, Scott led several community paint days, during which South Seattle College community and West Seattle neighbors and artists were invited to join in the realization of this mural and community space.
Who led this?
Scott Méxcal is full time art faculty here on campus, as well as a beloved community muralist and artist. Scott has been incredible in leading this project! He’s put in countless hours assisting with the artist selection process, coordinating the mural design with Tori, planning community paint days, meeting with the faculty, and teaching the mural class; as well as participating as a member of the Art Gallery Committee.

Art Gallery Committee members are Eileen Jimenez, Stephanie Hankinson, Scott Méxcal, Amiko Matsuo, and Sharon Arnold, who met each week to review proposals and designs, engage walk throughs to finalize the mural location, raise awareness in the gallery, and more!

USA Student Leadership, and in particular USA President Judas Iscariot, who unanimously supported and generously advocated for the ongoing work of both the mural project and the art gallery to raise the visibility of our community-building work on campus.

South Seattle College leadership, staff and faculty demonstrated their support in engaging with the entire process from start to finish.