SAN DIMAS/LA VERNE – When San Dimas High School Class of 2005 graduate and visual designer Kat Bingley – known professionally as “Katbing” – was asked to collaborate with French street artist Kekli to create the towering nine-story “Games 4 All” mural, celebrating the Olympic spirit in the runup to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, it was a milestone in her career.

With her to record the process for a documentary film was her twin sister Barbara Bingley-Verseman, also a 2005 San Dimas graduate. It was an experience that brought the pair even closer together, and a first-time collaboration from two former students of longtime San Dimas High art teacher Dominic Black.

The alumnae got a hero’s welcome home when the film, “Le Mural,” received a special screening at the Bonita Center for the Arts on Sept. 26, with the pair sitting for a Q&A after the film, discussing their whirlwind two-week visit to France and reminiscing about their time at San Dimas High. The screening was hosted by Black, with the Q&A moderated by San Dimas High Class of 2020 graduate Eve McFarland.

“I’ll never forget my time in Mr. Black’s class. It was a great atmosphere for me while I was going through a hard time,” Katbing said. “He was always so supportive. I did a few projects that surprised me and I realized ‘I can do this.’ I carried that with me through my twenties until I got to Cal State LA. It was tough. But once I got my first client, I was able to figure the business out as I went.”

Bingley-Verseman also navigated a path through the arts, receiving a bachelor’s degree in journalism at Sacramento State and interning for ABC 10 in Sacramento as a cameraperson and editor, acquiring the skills she would need to become an independent filmmaker.

“I learned a little bit of everything – writing, editing, directing – and got more into videography. It was like my grad school,” Bingley-Verseman said. “Kat and I always wanted to work together, to do something creative. We learned things about each other’s professions that we didn’t know before. It was special.”

Katbing is known for her bold designs and vibrant colors, and her work can be seen throughout Southern California on walls, storefronts, and studios, as well as basketball courts, car washes, and lifeguard towers. Her international presence is also growing, with works in Mexico, Vietnam, and now France.

The “Games 4 All” mural is one part of an ongoing cultural collaboration between American and French artists, with this work commissioned by the City of Los Angeles and the French American Mural Art (FAMA) group, to celebrate both the 2024 Olympics in Paris and the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

Located in the Clignancourt neighborhood in the north of Paris, “Games 4 All” is filled with Katbing’s signature smiley faces, used throughout to capture the competitive spirit and international bonding seen in the Olympics, including a Paralympic cycler racing on a wheelchair with a smiley face for the back wheel and a peace sign for the front wheel.

Bingley-Verseman’s documentary captures the effervescence of Paris street life, talking with vendors and pedestrians, as well as spotlighting the FAMA organizers and artists who presented Katbing with the opportunity – including Kekli, a street artist who wears a mask to conceal his identity. The film tracks Katbing and Kekli from the design phase through the completion of the mural and the public unveiling.

“Working in Paris with so many great people, even though there was a language barrier, we were able to find ways to communicate as artists through the language of art,” Katbing said. “It was an unforgettable time and we were so blessed to be able to spend it together.”

McFarland, who served as moderator for the Q&A, recently received her master’s degree in sports journalism from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. McFarland’s broadcast media training and personal experience as a former student-athlete are helping her achieve her goal to be a sports reporter.

“I am so proud of Kat and Barbara and what they have been able to achieve as professional artists,” Black said. “It shows what can happen when you believe in yourself and keep pushing yourself to succeed. It’s an honor for me to be able to teach and work with such talented people.”

PHOTOS

BUSD_LEMURAL1: San Dimas High School Class of 2005 alumnae Kat Bingley (middle left) and Barbara Bingley-Verseman (middle right) discuss the film “Le Mural” at a screening at the Bonita Center for the Arts on Sept. 26. The screening was hosted by San Dimas art teacher Dominic Black (far left) and moderated by San Dimas Class of 2020 alumna Eve McFarland (far right).

BUSD_LEMURAL2: Visual designer Kat Bingley, known as “Katbing,” and video journalist Barbara-Bingley-Verseman are all smiles after hosting a screening of “Le Mural,” a documentary on Katbing’s travels to Paris to collaborate on a mural leading up to the Paris Olympics, for the Bonita Unified community.