Public Art
Studio Channel Islands supports clients in public art commissioning. Art and design in the public realm is an essential part of modern urban design. Art offers moments of delight and inspiration, tells the unique story of a community or place and fosters connections between and within communities.
Studio Channel Islands works with clients to create art and design plans, artist selection, installation and management.
Recent Projects
Moon Ditch Mural

Artist Elisa Torres painting in the Moon Ditch
The Moon Ditch project will create the longest mural in the State of California and one of the largest public art projects in the nation. Stretching for almost an entire mile, the mural celebrate the delicate ecology and unique wildlife of the Santa Clara river and the communities which live alongside it.
The mural has been designed by Elisa Torres, her vision for the mural is as a long-form visual narrative that reconnects the community to the living systems that sustain them. Read in motion by drivers, passengers, and train riders; the artwork transforms overlooked public infrastructure into an opportunity for environmental education and celebration.
The mural highlights native plants such as tule, insects including red dragonflies and monarch butterflies, birds like egrets and great blue herons, and the waterways that exist alongside daily life yet often go unseen. By presenting the ditch as an ecological corridor in motion, the mural encourages viewers to reconsider their relationship to land and water. Through bold, legible imagery and intentional pacing, the work promotes stewardship, reflection, and shared responsibility for clean waterways, healthy ecosystems, and community well-being. Rooted in place, the mural belongs to the land, the community, and all who pass through it.
Dizdar Park

Installation at Dizdar Park 5/5/26
In 2025, the City of Camarillo commissioned Studio Channel Islands to create an artwork which tells the history of Dizdar Park. Studio Channel Islands invited artists from across the County of Ventura to propose plans for engaging the community in telling this story and developing the project. Elisa Torres was selected as the artist to lead this process and create the artwork which now stands within the park.
Elisa Torres is a graduate from California State University Channel Islands, an arts advocate, community organizer, and public artist. Her work transforms spaces with vibrant, large-scale pieces which celebrate community, culture, and identity.
The project took over a year to complete and involved research undertaken at the Museum of Ventura County, community workshops supported by students from California State University Channel Islands, and interviews with the family and friends of Mike Dizdar, Eugene Putnam, and the Camarillo family.
Central Plaza
Mollie Doctrow was commissioned to create 10 metal plaques depicting historical sites, native wildflowers, and scenic vistas of Camarillo and the surrounding areas.
Inspired by Camarillo’s botanical life and historic places, each piece highlights local plants, birds, and locations you can actually visit. With help from the Camarillo Historical Society, CSUCI, St. John’s Seminary, and Pleasant Valley Recreation & Park District, this work was shaped by real people and real stories.
The woodcuts were created in the artists studio over a period of 12 months. The artist then produced a series of prints which were scanned and sent to a fabricator to be cast in metal. The finished plaques are black on a silver metal, the black areas raised in relief to provide textural interest.