Compromise Is Key is a ceramic tile mural created by youth from the Zenith Girls Home led by artist Michael Massenburg. The youth created a colorful artwork representing the City’s diverse cultures through abstracted faces floating over a handshake spanning the globe.

This mural arose from Inglewood’s 1999 Youth Plan, which states “Inglewood youth have a lot of ideas. They want to be more involved in improving the conditions of Inglewood for the present and the future. Inglewood youth want more than token responsibility.” Massenburg took this as an action plan for a mural reminding us that compromise is key.

Michael Massenburg is an Inglewood artist and educator exploring visual and social issues in collage, paint and media. His creative goal is to inform, provoke thoughts or inspire the viewer by incorporating everyday images reflecting the culture and history of a community. Mr. Massenburg is committed to making art with a social purpose. His public art has been commissioned by the Forum in Inglewood, the American Jazz Museum in Kansas City, Missouri and, with Robin Strayhorn, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority’s Rosa Parks Station. He won grants from the California Arts Council and Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.

Date: 2000
Collection: City of Inglewood Community-Based Public Art Projects
Medium: Mural
Material: Painted Ceramic Tiles
Size: 8′ x 6′

Location:
Inglewood City Hall First Floor
1 Manchester Blvd.
Inglewood, California 90301

Compromise Is Key, Michael Massenburg

Community Murals of Inglewood, MonaLisa Whitaker