Delivering Nirvana: CA Street Artist Paints 10,000 Buddhas

MARIN COUNTY, CA -- Six years ago, Marin County resident Amanda Giacomini set out on a journey to bring peace and inspiration to the public. The street artist, inspired by a trip to India, made it her mission to create thousands of Buddha murals around the world with the hope that it would bring calm to others.

Today, Giacomini’s brightly-colored murals, dubbed the 10,000 Buddhas, can be found throughout the country -- from the beaches of Miami to the Hollywood stars of Los Angeles. She’s also created mobile collections that have traveled throughout Europe and the U.S.

“My purpose is to inspire and uplift,” said Giacomini, who also owns a yoga studio with her husband, Nicholas. “The image of the Buddhas sitting and meditating together speaks to the idea that we have to do the work together.”

Each mural has multiple images of Buddha stacked together. Giacomini has created Buddha images as small as one inch to as big as four feet tall.

Giacomini said her project was sparked by a visit to the Ajanta Caves in India, a sacred spot that is the site of 29 rock-cut Buddhist cave monuments. She became fixated with the Buddha religion and wanted to spread its message.

“I think one of the Buddhist values that impacted me was taking responsibility of our destiny,” Giacomini said. “Our thoughts really create our reality. The idea that we can gain control over our thoughts can calm our nervous system and create a more peaceful and joyful state of mind.”

With the values of Buddhism in mind, Giacomini created her first mural at Art Basel in Miami, an international art fair that attracts thousands of creative minds each year.

From there, Giacomini’s project took off. She began receiving invitations to recreate 10,000 Buddhas on public walls throughout the world.

Impassioned by the message of Buddha, Giacomini has painted in 100 degrees of heat or right before a thunderstorm. She’s also had to overcome her fear of heights to create some of her largest pieces on the side of buildings with multiple stories.

Despite the uncomfortable situations, Giacomini said she, herself, has found peace in creating the images of Buddha.

“The thing I noticed right away is how peaceful I felt when I was painting these Buddhas,” Giacomini said. “The whole process is a visual meditation for me in contemplating these ideas. It ensues a real peace of mind when I do it.”

Giacomini said her focus for the new year is to bring the murals to areas that faced tragedy in the last year, including in her home state of California where wildfires, and most recently mudslides, killed lives and damaged homes.

“These tragedies have left a terrible sense of sadness in this country,” Giacomini said. “My next goal is to try to bring these paintings in these communities where they have hardships. It’s the only thing I know how to do to alleviate the suffering.”

--Photo by Matt Roy