Created by local arts collective Abstract Picnic, and currently gracing one of the park’s community buildings, Life’s a Picnic! is a vibrant, large-scale mural that invites its audience to reconnect with the simple but radical acts of gathering, creating, and being present together. The piece features a red and white checkerboard picnic blanket holding colorful representations of picnic items come to life. These images also make a sly nod to famous works of art, with an online matching game to help viewers figure out the connections. “At its heart, the mural embodies who we are and what we love to do,” noted collective member JESHAKA. “It’s about inviting people to pause, play, laugh, connect through art and think about life from a more present perspective.”

Drawing inspiration from the embedded cultural ritual of the picnic, Life’s a Picnic! uses the act of gathering outdoors as a metaphor for life itself: preparation meeting spontaneity, hospitality blending with joy, and community taking shape through shared presence. The playful imagery and layered historical art references celebrate conviviality, imagination, and the creative energy that emerges when people come together.

Community Picnic

In early June, the collective lived up to its name by joining with RAP to host a free community picnic. More than 60 people came out on a beautiful Saturday afternoon for a potluck-style event featuring solar printing, soap bubbles, hula hooping, and live music by Shaggy Peak Social Club.

Mural Match Game

Can you spot all of the art references in Life’s a Picnic!? Test your knowledge of art history by playing Abstract Picnic’s Mural Match Game.

Abstract Picnic is an artist-run, Santa Fe-based collective centered around community building and art making of all disciplines. Their primary goal is to support underrepresented, emerging artists in northern New Mexico through creative development, exposure and conceptual discourse. Abstract Picnic also seeks to deepen communal connections and facilitate personal growth by hosting a variety of events.

Life’s a Picnic! is supported in part by the City of Santa Fe’s Arts & Culture Commission.

Images courtesy of Byron Flesher and the Abstract Picnic Collective