Kennedy Park’s new public artworks include three mosaic murals created by artists Paloma Jacqueline and Carlos Valenzuela, with creative support from artist Jesus Robles and many community members. The artworks celebrate local athletes, community history, and shared activities such as gardening, cooking, music, dancing, sports, and the desert landscape.
The artists were selected by a community panel that actively informed them during the design phase. The panel included Ernesto Somoza, Tyler Miller, Ash Dahlke, John Anderson, and Joe O’Neil. Kennedy Park’s public art was commissioned as part of the Art in Your Park Ward 1 Public Art Project, which brought new public artworks to both Kennedy Park and Barrio Nopal Park. The public art project was commissioned by the City of Tucson Parks and Recreation in collaboration with the Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona.
Kennedy Park Improvements Ribbon Cutting
Kennedy Park Northwest Sports Field and Picnic Area (3400 S. La Cholla Blvd., 85713)
March 28, 2026, 9:00-10:00 am
Join us as we celebrate the latest improvements to Kennedy Park, including a new dog park, a shaded playground, new ballfields, and public artwork. The event will take place at the new ballfields on Little League Opening Ceremonies day. Come see the new beautiful mosaic murals, meet lead artist Paloma Jacqueline, and connect with the many community members who helped bring these murals to life.
Photo credit: Julius Schlosburg
About the Artists
Paloma Jacqueline is a native Tucsonan who grew up in and around downtown. She studied Ceramics and Film and Television at Pima College and the University of Arizona. She has been working at the grassroots community level since she was 15 years old.
Working for Voices History Past and Present on a book called No Me Veas Diferente, Don’t Look at Me Different, as a young writer and oral historian gave her a deep understanding of how important people’s stories are to capture the history and culture of the time. This experience helped guide her into working as a ceramic tile muralist, with her first mural at the El Rio Neighborhood Center on the West side of Tucson, AZ. Here, she led a group of high school and middle school students, along with community members, to tell their stories and capture the history of the center and the strength and resilience of the elders in the community. Teaching youth and adults techniques of hand-built tiles, surface texture glazing, and installation, the group created their own mural from start to finish. This community project helped steer Paloma toward working with people of all ages on more tile murals at the community level throughout Tucson.
By focusing on the stories and culture of the people involved in the project, the participants are able to connect with the image and symbolism used throughout the mural. There is always a story to tell to capture a bit of history of the surrounding area, and the people and animals that coexist together, using clay as a way of healing and transforming people, are able to come together to work on these projects and help build community. Paloma strives to continue developing her skills and mastering her art while incorporating the stories and history of the town where she grew up.
Carlos Valenzuela designs, fabricates, and installs large-scale public art out of ceramic tile and glass mosaics. He is a community-based public artist who strongly believes in community members’ participation in creating public art for their own communities. Valenzuela uses durable materials that stand the test of time and the extreme weather of the Sonoran Desert, and makes installations from them that are largely maintenance-free. He incorporates images and symbols that represent the natural world he grew up around in the Sonoran Desert. Valenzuela’s artwork helps to bring together communities and gives them a place to heal by sharing their stories and beautiful ways of viewing the world around them, capturing moments and beauty.
