Artist Painted Nuclear Colonialism Mural in Clarion Alley
The piece marks 35 sites globally impacted by atomic power and is set for completion in the coming months.
Updated on Oct. 4, 2026 in Nuclear
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Bay Area artist Victoria Canby has begun work on a new mural in Clarion Alley that traces the history of nuclear colonialism. The installation depicts a genie alongside an exploding bomb to illustrate the global reach of atomic testing and facilities.
Why it matters
The mural serves to educate the public on the long-term impacts of nuclear activity on specific communities around the world. By documenting these sites, the project brings a global history of environmental and human harm to a prominent local public art space.
The mural highlights 35 distinct global sites impacted by atomic facilities and testing. This visual map is the culmination of one year of research into atomic power history.
The players
Victoria Canby
A Bay Area-based Diné artist who researched atomic history for one year to inform her mural.
Kyoko Sato
An associate director at Stanford University who collaborated on the mural's research and imagery.
The details
Artist Victoria Canby, who is Diné, collaborated with Stanford University associate director Kyoko Sato to develop the imagery. The project maps locations in regions including Congo, Nevada, and Japan that have been harmed by nuclear activity. The mural is expected to be finished by the artist in the next few months.
Timeline
1945: The first nuclear bomb was detonated.
2023: Canby began painting in Clarion Alley.
Next few months: Canby plans to finish the mural.
Across the Bay
The mural uses the 1945 detonation of the first nuclear bomb as a starting point to trace the subsequent legacy of nuclear colonialism. It follows a tradition of Bay Area public art designed to bring complex global environmental histories into local neighborhoods.
If you walk through Clarion Alley, you can observe the ongoing mural project in person. The artwork is scheduled to be completed by the artist within the next few months.
The takeaway
The mural invites residents to learn about the specific global communities historically impacted by atomic development. Keep an eye on Clarion Alley over the next few months to see the project's final state.
Further reading
For more on how atomic history intersects with local public discourse, visit our Nuclear section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Mission Local.
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