LAO MURALIST AND TATTOO ARTIST Konekham “Koniack” Lathipanya wanted to represent the challenges of feminine beauty in his mural entitled “Beautiful Struggle.”

The colorful artwork depicts portraits of three women with unsmiling expressions. The women are of Black, Asian and Latina descent. Each face is cracked, representing the beauty in imperfection, according to the artist, in a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday at Coy Parking Garage in downtown Stockton.

“The female image embodies beauty,” Lathipanya said. “The mural is called Beautiful Struggle, so I wanted to show beauty with the cracks, with the struggle.”

Lathipanya wants to leave the portrait to interpretation. But to him, the women’s expressions are that of determination. 

“They’re being strong, independent, serious, they’re looking towards the future, looking towards the sky,” Lathipanya said. “Just having hope being determined. Determined to overcome any obstacle that they encounter.”

A woman speaks in front of a speaker and and a mural on a wall.
Stockton Mayor Christina Fugazi speaks in front of the “Beautiful Struggle” at Coy Parking Garage in downtown Stockton on Monday. (Daniel Garza/Stocktonia)

Lathipanya was appointed by the Stockton Arts Commission as part of the Public Art Mural Program, according to Thomas Freeman, the community services program manager. He said the city spends $50,000 annually to put murals on publicly owned facilities. 

Freeman shared that the commission chooses a theme to focus on each year. “Beautiful Struggle” is part of the 2024 program centered around diversity. Lathipanya applied and sent in his design, which was then approved for painting. 

A crowd gathers around a mural of three women on the side of a parking garage.
Onlookers gaze at the mural “Beautiful Struggle” at Coy Parking Garage in downtown Stockton on July 14, 2025. (Daniel Garza/Stocktonia)

In celebration of the piece, Mayor Christina Fugazi, Councilmember Michael Blower, city officials and friends of Lathipanya’s attended the ceremony.

“Everybody interprets art in their own way,” Lathipanya’s friend and employer, Armando Perez, said. “I think everybody who looks at it is always going to get a positive message.” 

Both Fugazi and Blower spoke positively about the piece. Fugazi even held out the ribbon for Lathipanya to cut. 

“I hope that when people walk by, they truly stop and look at it,” Fugazi said in her speech. “And understand the beauty we have right here in Stockton.”

This story originally appeared in Stocktonia.