Juan Navarro is a true visionary and a social practice artist who combines his talents with a deeply rooted desire to uplift his community through placemaking, and beautification enhancement projects.

Juan is currently the Artist-In-Residence at the Riverside Art Museum in which he focuses on partnering with local community groups through workshops to create informed, collaborative, and relevant public art for specific neighborhoods and initiatives. In the summer of 2023, Juan Navarro joined the Riverside Art Museum to receive a National Medal for Museum and Library Services for this specific community engagement work from the First Lady of the United States, Dr. Jill Biden, in the White House. To date, Juan has produced more than 15 public artworks in the Eastside, Riverside— all involving residents. His major ongoing project is the Park Avenue Storefront Revitalization Project, where he has led 9 mural transformations all within a half-mile walking distance as a community-led solution to address economic disparities in his neighborhood, sponsored by U.S. Bank. Navarro’s most recent and prominent project, the Casa Blanca Mural has been recognized by Mayor Lock Dawson of Riverside for it’s historical significance in one of the oldest communities in the city of Riverside.

After several projects, he felt that opening an art studio, Eastside Arthouse, was appropriate due to the overwhelming support from residents for his artwork. He considers his studio a love letter to the Eastside neighborhood. One core value of the studio is to create a feasible entry point to an art community for local artists in an underserved area of Riverside. Juan aims to maintain a safe space where artists can exercise their creative skills, refine entrepreneurship and focus on personal growth. The studio has grown from a place for local artists to a local gallery and an event space for arts and culture.

Due to the increasing success of Juan Navarro’s multiple large-scale murals, community involvement, and opening of the Eastside Arthouse Juan has landed a major partnership with Inland Empire Health Services (IEHP) to produce a series of murals featuring Inland Empire landscapes across Riverside and San Bernardino county.