Five seconds — that’s how long artist Brian Peterson has to make an impression on the average driver passing by Katella Avenue, where his latest mural is taking shape. In those five seconds, Peterson has set out to capture the vibrant sense of community that will soon fill Orange County’s newest sports, entertainment and residential district, OCVibe.
“The team at OCVibe places high value in art, and they wanted it to be integral to the process before the building was even finished,” Peterson said of the mural he designed near the entry to the district. “I think that’s a testament to how they view humanity — that art and creativity is important.”
Miami-based artist Brian Peterson next to his mural at OC Vibe in Orange, CA, on Monday, July 6, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
1 of 9
Miami-based artist Brian Peterson next to his mural at OC Vibe in Orange, CA, on Monday, July 6, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Peterson’s mural, “Rhythm, Flavor, Motion,” is the first of several major paintings to find a home among the new features of the 100-acre development project transforming the area around the Honda Center. The multi-story art piece features a musician, chef and young hockey player awash in vibrant hues of red, blue, yellow and orange — though fictional, the three figures represent the district’s focus on bringing live music, culinary arts and sporting events to the area, Peterson said.
“I strive to paint people that someone can relate to,” Peterson said. “Every wall has a challenge of, ‘How do you represent the most people in a community in a single wall?’”
The Miami-based artist designs murals for buildings across the nation, and “Rhythm, Flavor, Motion” marks his ninth mural in Orange County. Before moving back to his hometown three years ago, Peterson spent roughly a decade in Orange County, where he launched his full-time art career painting portraits of the unhoused community in his neighborhood. That practice instilled in him a lifelong love for creating art that captures the essence of local communities, and it’s exactly what he hopes to achieve in his visual representation of OCVibe, he said.
Over the course of the next year, OCVibe plans to debut more than 70 original artworks as part of a long-term commitment to champion publicly accessible art in the Anaheim district. In partnership with the art and design studio FUTUREFORMS, OCVibe recently unveiled its plan for a public art program that is expected to include one of the nation’s most diverse outdoor galleries.
FUTUREFORMS co-founder Nataly Gattegno said the design studio has worked to deliberately weave art into public spaces and involve a diverse range of artists in the project. Visitors will be able to view the outdoor gallery along a 2- to 3-mile pedestrian loop.
“OCVIBE has a firm belief that public art has the capacity to bring people together, to make places much more active (and) to create community engagement,” Gattegno said. “It’s been an interesting process of respecting the fabric (of the city) that’s already there — it’s history and the people who have been a part of that culture of place — and allowing new things to layer on top.”
Gattegno and co-founder Jason Kelly Johnson are behind the sculptural canopy, known as “Stretto,” which will sit in front of the incoming concert hall and face OC Vibe’s Urban Park, an open-air gathering space where visitors will be able to enjoy the outdoor entertainment and art installations.
The sculpture’s design and title are references to the piece’s musical namesake, which embodies the lively energy that Gattegno hopes will soon fill the space. Additionally, “Stretto” will act as a visual bridge between the Honda Center and the under-construction concert hall, highlighting the sports center’s longstanding history while welcoming onlookers into the adjacent space, Gattegno said.
“Stretto” is part of the larger vision that FUTUREFORMS has for the district’s visual aesthetic. By recruiting a variety of local, emerging and nationally established artists, the design team is focused on crafting a “sense of place” that will appeal not only to visitors, but also to the residents who will soon occupy the residential areas, Gattegno said.
OCVibe will be building more than 2,000 housing units. In addition to luxury apartments, the residential area will include about 340 affordable units as part of an early commitment to make renting accessible in the district, said Brian Myers, a senior director on the OCVibe development team.
“We really wanted to have a rich community experience around lifestyle, not just food and entertainment,” Myers said. “It was important for us to build out a full ecosystem.”
Along with the new homes, the $5 billion OC Vibe project — Henry Samueli, the billionaire owner of the Ducks and his company, are behind the development — includes reinvestment in the Honda Center, new parking structures, restaurants, hotels, park space and incorporates the ARTIC transit station, creating a new neighbor on the city’s southern border. Its developers call it a new downtown for Orange County.
The invented word Myers used — “transmorphic” — maybe best describes OCVibe’s vision for the development project, he said. He added that the Samueli family was intent on featuring art, entertainment and amenities that would evolve with the community over time.
“It will take on different shapes, depending on your mood and the time of day, and the speed at which you’re traveling through the project,” Myers said. “We wanted this place to be something that could change.”
OCVibe’s next mural — “Gratitude” by Anaheim-based artist Carla Roque — will begin its installation process along Katella Avenue in the coming weeks. Both Roque and Peterson’s murals will be visible from the 57 Freeway. Katella Commons — which boasts the district’s food-focused market hall, concert hall and new office space The Weave — will open in early 2027, while the remainder of the project will be finished by 2033.
As the project progresses, Myers said the team is most invested in fostering a sense of harmony between each sector. For Peterson, it’s legacy that OCVibe is cultivating.
“What’s more special than that?” he asked. “Than leaving behind something creative for generations after you?”
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.ocregister.com ’
