Los Alamos teens create first mural in Voltage Visions project
Teens in Los Alamos turned a transformer box near Fuller Lodge Lawn into the first Voltage Visions mural, a downtown project meant to draw foot traffic and test whether public art can strengthen Main Street activity.
Work on the first Voltage Visions mural began near Fuller Lodge Lawn and Wolf & Mermaid Enchanted Roasters, putting the project in the center of Los Alamos’ downtown pedestrian traffic. The transformer box is the first public canvas in a new youth mural program from Los Alamos MainStreet and Creative District, which is using a state grant to turn utilitarian infrastructure into visible street-level art.
Los Alamos MainStreet hired local artist Margarita Ryan to lead teens from the Los Alamos Teen Center through the process, from brainstorming and sketch development to surface preparation and professional painting techniques. The project was not a paint-by-numbers commission. The teenagers helped shape the concept from scratch, choosing to mix humor, vivid color and local heritage in a way that reflected their own view of town.
Voltage Visions is the first project in a planned series of placemaking efforts this year, and MainStreet has said the murals are part of a broader effort to make downtown feel more lively and memorable. The first piece was underway June 27 and was expected to be finished the following week. More placemaking sites are planned for the fall, extending the effort beyond a single mural box.
The funding comes from a Creative Industries Division grant through the New Mexico Economic Development Department. The division was created by House Bill 8, signed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on April 5, 2023, and the department says its grant programs are meant to support artists, creative businesses and organizations with funding for growth, infrastructure and innovation. State arts and cultural district grants are also framed as catalytic investment for creative programming and long-term district development.
For Los Alamos MainStreet, the project fits a long-running downtown strategy. The program was established in 1993 and operates as part of the Los Alamos Commerce & Development Corporation. It says Los Alamos has New Mexico’s only MainStreet program with two designated areas, one in downtown Los Alamos and one in White Rock’s commercial area. The group won a Great American Main Street Award in 2016 and received 2023 Main Street America accreditation.
The organization says its work is tied to the town’s history and economy, including its role as a secret city during World War II and its effort to support local businesses, community events and historic and scientific heritage. In that setting, the mural project is more than decoration: it puts young artists on public view in the most walkable part of town and tests whether a small, visible intervention can help strengthen downtown use, local identity and business activity.
Margarita Ryan, who is Argentine-born and based in Los Alamos, has built a local reputation through Oppenheimer-themed murals and youth-centered art projects. She also owns Beehaus, a design, marketing and social media business in Central Park Square, adding another downtown connection to a project that is trying to turn blank utility boxes into a reason to linger.
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