Fynnwin Prager

I am an Associate Professor of Public Administration at CSU Dominguez Hills, where I also serve as Director of the School of Public Service and Justice and Co-Director of the South Bay Economics Institute.

Building #30 (Social & Behavior Sciences Building, SBS). 1 sculpture.

Designed in 1978 by Haruo Yamashiro, this Shinwa-En Japanese Garden includes a teahouse and Japanese plants.

This sculpture connects the campus with the local Japanese American community. Japanese American itinerant farmers worked the land on the CSUDH campus before their mass incarceration during World War II.

At the rededication ceremony in 2017, CSUDH President Willie Hagan said: “Remembering is important. However, remembering is not enough, because it is not just about the memory; it’s about the lessons we have learned or should have learned from what happened. We honor those best who were dishonored by Executive Order 9066 by doing our best to make sure it never happens again. By staying vigilant.”

Building #72 (Student Residence Hall, SRH). 4 murals.

Artist: iris yirei hu

“iris sees her art as a cultural service. She hopes her murals serve as a backdrop for students living through new experiences and forming relationships. Students will initially struggle in this new environment where they will learn, grow, and transform. iris’ work holds the exploration of oneself to help heal from grief and struggles, to strengthen values informed by both family and community.”

iris’ work weaves together some of the colorful cultures that make up Los Angeles.

Mural #1 (above). Lessons from Wise Woman (Tongva Elder Julia Bogany), Grandmother Oak Tree, and Hands (2018).

NOTE: This piece is in two parts. You can take your selfie photo in front of either one. Both parts face the SBS building. The right-hand side features Tongva Elder Julia Bogany in a pink dress. She is one of few Indigenous women shown in public art in LA.

Mural #2 (above). eternal kiss of two brothers (2018)

NOTE: This mural next to the front doors features two large blue hands sewing a bird into blue fabric among three native Croatian plants – mulberry (like a raspberry, but long, thing, and often black), iris (an orchid-like flower, but also part of the eye), and lavender (purple, sweet smelling, named after baths!).

Mural #3 (above). i eat your body and drink your blood (2017).

NOTE: This image is part of a much larger mural (see above) dedicated to iris’ friend emi kuiyama, who passed in 2016. It features African American writer and civil rights activist James Baldwin, who is depicted as a dragonfly.

Mural #4 (above). They wove what they saw (day) and (night), 2019.

NOTE: This piece is also in two parts (day and night), and you can take a selfie in front of either. The murals represent two flowering yucca plants, which are native to the LA region.

Building #20 (Library). Various art works by various artists.

Mural (above). Women in Bloom (2024) by Cristina Martinez.

NOTE: This mural is on the side of the Library building. Cristina Martinez was the Presidential Artist in Residence at CSUDH and celebrates her Black and Mexican heritage through her work.

Quilt (above) (inside, 1st floor, Old Library, next to elevators). California State University Dominguez Hills. Institute for the Study of Cultural Diversity and Internationalization.

Painting (above). (inside, 2nd floor, Old Lib.) From Joy to the Mystery of Becoming (1977) by Gilah Yelin Hirsch.

Sculpture (above). Where Cultures Meet (2010) by Ben Victor

NOTE: A 15-foot sculpture located outside the new library features 10 life-size figures representing different ethnicities. The sculpture's base includes the inscription, "We share the same planet. We share many common themes in our lives. Let us embrace our similarities and respect our differences"

Painting (above). (5th floor, New Library) This is Freedom (2019) Michael Massenberg.

NOTE: Commissioned by the Mervyn M. Dymally African American Political and Economic Institute at CSUDH for the inaugural Dymally International Jazz & Arts Festival poster, 2019. Michael Massenburg was born in San Diego, raised in South Central Los Angeles, and lives in Inglewood. Michael pursued his studies at California State University Long Beach and the Otis School of Art and Design. He began his career at the Watts Towers Arts Center, influenced by the artists out of the Watts Rebellion and the Los Angeles Uprising.

Print (above). (inside, 5th floor, New Library). Mulheres de Carlota II (2010) by Fonthor de Luca (Brazilian visual artist)

Building #40 (LaCorte Hall, LCH). Art exhibit at the University Art Gallery.

Exhibit. Brackish Water Los Angeles, 2024. Take a selfie with your favorite piece!

Sculpture (above). Portable Wetland for Southern California (2019). Lauren Bon and Metabolic Studio. (further details below)

Between Building #40 (LaCorte Hall, LCH) and Building #45 (University Theatre, UT).

Sculpture (above). Tiny Village (2014). By Chris Evans, Peter Chance and Fernando Goncalves.

Building #15 (Innovation and Instruction Building, II). 8 murals by Mark Steven Greenfield.

Mural (above) Crucilibum (2017)

NOTE: This colorful mural on the first floor, by the South entrance, depicts a Yoruban (Nigerian) Egun, The Egun can bring good fortune or inflict a curse.

Mural (above). Hive Mantra (2017)

NOTE: This piece is also on the first floor (facing the elevators), and is inspired by the humming of bees. Can you see the 11 bees hidden among the marks?

Mural (above). Zong (2019)

NOTE: This depicts the Zong Massacre of 1781, in which the captain of the British slave ship Zong had 130 captive and enslaved African people thrown overboard, due to the shortage of food and water. Outrage at this event gave rise to the British abolitionist movement.

Mural (above). Crop Circle (2016)

NOTE: This second floor mural depicts the cotton fields that many enslaved Black people were forced to work in.

Mural (above). CC Two, 2017

NOTE: This blue and black image represents the artist engaging with “Cosmic Consciousness”, which some see as representing God, or human engagement with a higher being

Mural (above). CC Three, 2019.

NOTE: This pink and black mural on the third floor aims to represent the same Cosmic Consciousness.

Mural (above). Stowaways, 2011.

NOTE: Also on the third floor, this green and black piece includes depictions of watermelons. The fruit arrive in America in the stomachs of enslaved Africans, and became a positive symbol of Black citizenhood and economic freedom following the American Civil War. However, white symbolism at the time framed these items in negative, xenophobic terms.

Mural (above). Collard Cotton, 2011.

NOTE: This piece on the fourth floor combines further images of cotton with those of collard greens, a staple of Black cultural cuisine (and extremely healthy for you!).