Through partnerships with organizations like The Salvation Army and the Mako Foundation, Pezer97 has designed and painted school and community murals across Southern California: campus walls, day care interiors, community centers and public-facing exteriors. Every one is designed around the people who use the space every day and finished to hold up for years in a public setting.
School and nonprofit projects run differently from commercial work. There are more people to satisfy (funders, administrators, staff and students) and the finished wall has to hold up to daily contact with a young audience for years. This page covers how those projects are designed, funded, approved and kept safe, and what they cost.
Art a school can stand behind
The design brief for a campus is narrower than it first appears. Color has to be energetic without being agitating, imagery has to stay appropriate and legible across a wide age range, and every element needs to be something staff are comfortable defending to a parent. Within those limits there is still enormous room for real work. This is not decoration by committee.
Surfaces on school sites tend to be the hardest going: block walls, stucco, exterior panels in full sun. Exterior work gets UV-resistant paint and a professional protective coating, so a mural funded once still looks funded a decade later.
Two recent projects
Vista del Mar, with the Mako Foundation. The Mako Foundation commissioned a campus mural for Vista del Mar in Southern California: broad, confident shapes and a bright, saturated palette that reads from across a corridor or a yard, developed to satisfy three audiences at once, the funder, the school staff and the students who see it every day. See the Vista del Mar project.
The Salvation Army day care, Los Angeles. Working directly with the organization, we developed imagery around the values of the community: hope, resilience, creativity and belonging. The mural covers a large interior wall and was painted with non-toxic, durable interior paint chosen for a setting full of young children. See the Salvation Army project.
Both sit alongside our public-facing exterior work, such as the Alvarado Arts Center mural in Echo Park.
Funding, partners and approvals
Many of these projects are commissioned by foundations and nonprofits rather than by the school itself, The Salvation Army and the Mako Foundation among them. That means fixed budgets, real reporting requirements, and a scope that needs to be right before anyone starts painting.
In practice the approval path usually looks like this: a discovery call with whoever is leading the project, a concept and a digital mockup of the design on a photograph of the actual wall, a round of revisions with the school or organization, sign-off from the funder and the site, then scheduling. Public school districts often have their own facilities approval as well, so we build that into the timeline rather than discovering it at the end.
Grant-funded and donor-funded projects come with fixed budgets. We quote a fixed price per project, so the figure in the application is the figure on the invoice. We work throughout Los Angeles and Southern California, and travel nationwide for the right project.
Safety on a school site
Painting on an occupied campus is planned around the school day. Work is scheduled after hours, on weekends or during breaks wherever possible, and where it has to overlap with the school day the area is cordoned off and kept clear of students. Interior work uses non-toxic, low-odor paint so nearby classrooms stay in use. Exterior walls in full sun get UV-resistant paint and a protective coating; our guide to how long a mural lasts explains what that involves.
If you want students involved, tell us early. A design session where students contribute ideas that are worked into the final piece, or a supervised painting session on a designated part of the wall, can be built into the project.
Community centers, nonprofits and public spaces
The same approach applies beyond schools: community centers, youth organizations, places of worship, clinics and civic buildings. The brief is usually identity and ownership, a wall that tells people the space belongs to them, and the constraints are the same: many stakeholders, a fixed budget and a surface that has to last.
Exterior community walls inside the City of Los Angeles go through the Original Art Mural registration, which adds lead time and a neighborhood notification window. Our Los Angeles mural permit guide explains the process.
What a school or community mural costs
Our minimum project engagement is $7,500, which typically covers a single interior wall. Larger interiors and exterior campus walls go up from there. We offer tailored pricing for community projects and we are happy to help a school or nonprofit shape a proposal that fits a grant. The 2026 Los Angeles mural pricing guide has the full breakdown.
Related Projects
School and community mural questions
How much does a school mural cost?
From $7,500 for a single interior wall, with larger interiors and exterior campus walls going up from there. We offer tailored pricing for community projects and quote a fixed price per project, which is what a grant application needs.
Who usually pays for a school mural?
Often a foundation, nonprofit or donor rather than the school itself, as with the Mako Foundation and The Salvation Army. Parent associations and district funds are the other common routes. We can quote early enough for the figure to go into a funding application.
Is the paint safe for children?
Interior work uses non-toxic, low-odor paint, and painting is scheduled around the school day with the work area kept clear of students. Exterior walls get UV-resistant paint and a protective coating so they hold up for years.
Can students be involved in the mural?
Yes, in a supervised way. Students can contribute ideas in a design session that are worked into the final piece, or paint a designated part of the wall under supervision. Tell us early so it can be planned properly.
How long does a school mural take?
Design and approvals take one to two weeks once everyone who needs to sign off is identified. Painting runs a few days for a single interior wall and up to a few weeks for a large exterior, scheduled during breaks and after hours wherever possible.
Do you need a permit for a mural at a school?
Interiors, no. An exterior wall inside the City of Los Angeles goes through the Original Art Mural registration, and public school districts usually have their own facilities approval process on top of that. We build both into the timeline.
Where do you work?
Los Angeles and Southern California, with school and community walls across the region, and nationwide for the right project.
Wondering about budget? Our 2026 Los Angeles mural pricing guide explains what a mural costs, what drives the price up or down, and what is included.