Muralist Lily Therens brings The Davis Collection to life
By Krisztian Anderson
BlueDevilHUB.com Staff–
Bright, colorful and impossible to miss, five murals at The Davis Collection bring life to the shopping center walls. Designed by Lily Therens, a graphic designer and muralist, the murals reflect the heart of the Davis community.
For shoppers, the murals have made a noticeable difference in how the shopping center feels.
“I thought the murals were cute, and they make the plaza feel less boring,” shopper Haein Lee said. “They make the shopping center feel more lively and kind of reflect the places around them, especially the restaurants.”
Therens, a UC Davis alumna, didn’t always plan on a career in art. When she first arrived at the university, she was a science major, unsure of what she wanted to do with her life. But after taking design and art history courses, she realized she couldn’t ignore her creative side.
“I kind of found that path while I was at UC Davis,” Therens said.
After graduating, Therens worked as a graphic designer and illustrator for restaurants, breweries and other businesses in the Sacramento area. Her first large mural, painted for a local brewery, introduced her to public art and helped lead to projects like The Davis Collection.
“That one mural design really kicked everything off,” Therens said.
Her work eventually caught the attention of Brixmor Property Group, the developer behind The Davis Collection. Planning for the murals began nearly a year before construction even started and Therens ultimately created designs for five murals located throughout the center.
“It was a huge undertaking, but they trusted me to take ideas and run with them,” Therens said. “That kind of trust doesn’t happen very often, especially on a project this size.”
Rather than relying on the usual symbols associated with Davis, Therens focused on native plants, wildlife and abstract references to community life.
“The goal was to represent Davis in a real way, not in a brochure-type way,” Therens said.
