Bay Area artist Julie Engelmann completed a new 100-foot mural on the exterior of Oakland Ice Center honoring Olympic figure skaters, Alysa Liu and Kristi Yamaguchi, who both trained there during their professional careers.

Peninsula artist Julie Engelmann completed the 100-foot mural over four weeks after pitching the idea to the rink, which commissioned the work with sponsor support and secured approval from both Liu and Yamaguchi, according to Oaklandside.

Engelmann said the mural reflects both her background in figure skating and her desire to convey the pride that residents feel for the Bay Area, while highlighting the achievements of two local, Asian-American Olympic champions.

As KTVU reports, the rink’s general manager, Glenn Martin, said the center has seen an uptick in visitors hoping to catch a glimpse of Liu, and the project was designed to stand out amid a growing number of large-scale Liu murals across the region and in Los Angeles. The Ice Center plans to invite both skaters to view the piece in person.

The mural is visible from classrooms at Oakland School for the Arts, where Liu studied, drawing attention from students who watched Engelmann at work and documented the process, per Oaklandside. Skaters and other onlookers also followed along over the four-week installation.

“What an amazing tribute, what an amazing work of art,” said Kellie Allyn, a former competitive skater, speaking to KTVU. "We’re lucky to have such amazing artists here.”

Oaklandside reports that the rink, where Liu first learned to skate as a child, continues to serve as her training base. It opened in 1995 and is now operated by Sharks Ice, with programming that draws hundreds of skaters at a time, many of them Olympians.

Martin said the center typically sees enrollment spikes following each Winter Olympics.

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