MURAL/TRASH CONTAINER ART TO BE UNVEILED

On Friday, February 5, 2016, the City of Tucson Environmental Services Department will unveil and begin delivery of five metal trash containers that have been painted with murals as part of an effort to reduce graffiti.  Environmental Services contracted with the Tucson Arts Brigade to coordinate the project. Additional funding was provided by the Graffiti Resource Council in Washington, DC.


Five Tucson artists have designed and painted the trash containers which will be provided to businesses that have a high potential for graffiti and tagging. The City, working with the Tucson Arts Brigade hopes the program will also improve urban aesthetics and ultimately save taxpayers money on graffiti abatement.

Five artists were selected from 44 applicants who ranged from established painters to first-time muralists. The artists are Johanna Hand, Sasha Lewis, Niki Glen, Porter McDonald and Ruben Moreno. The city provided $5,000 in funding for the pilot program, which was matched by the Graffiti Resource Council, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit vandalism prevention organization.

Tucson City Councilman Steve Kozachik said, “City leaders have been working on this program for quite some time. Even though such initiatives may not end the exorbitant cost of graffiti abatement, they can potentially help save money as well as beautify the city.”

The unveiling of the trash containers will be held in the parking lot, behind the Chicago Store in downtown Tucson on Friday, February 5, 2016 at 12:30 p.m. All five of the trash containers will be on display before being delivered to the business customers participating in the program.

Oakland Community Art Coalition Scores Major Victory Against “Comprehensive Anti-Graffiti Ordinance”

Reprinted from the December 19, 2012 Oakland based Community Revitalization Project.

What’s in a name? For the Oakland Community Art Coalition, everything.  After issuing recommendations to Councilpersons Nancy Nadel and Libby Schaaf and speaking before the Public Works Committee on two occasions, advocating in favor of modifications to a proposed “Comprehensive Anti-Graffiti Ordinance,” the committee recommended adoption of several of the Coalition’s suggestions following a December 12 hearing. The recommendations included removing the word “graffiti” from the ordinance – a major point of contention for the Coalition, who argued that the word refers to a legitimate artistic aesthetic, and isn’t automatically synonymous with vandalism or defacement of property. Other committee recommendations included removing the City Administrator as sole determinator of Restorative Justice remedies, and, most importantly, a directive to city staff to work with community groups on the implementation plan.

On December 18, the full Council agreed to amend the Ordinance according to the Committee’s recommendations, with final modifications coming January 22. The public hearing was a bit of a mixed bag: there was plenty of doubletalk from Councilpeople and city staff, some of whom seemed to attempt to have it both ways: take a seemingly tough stance on crime, while simultaneously professing appreciation for aerosol art and expressing enthusiasm for community input and Restorative Justice measures.

Yet the Council couldn’t pretend that issues around implementation and enforcement didn’t exist.

Desley Brooks noted that tagging wasn’t named in the ordinance, prompting Nadel, who co-authored the ordinance, to admit, “we didn’t discuss tagging.”

Brooks added, “there is some value” to “graffiti”, to which Deputy City Attorney Richard Illgen said, “yes, I agree.”

 

Rebecca Kaplan noted that suggestions from community groups were incorporated into the ordinance, but asked, “will it only end up being property owners who get fined?”

Illgen sidestepped the question—a valid one, since as much as 50% of tag-blighting is on city or state-owned property—by noting provisions were added “to allow relief for property owners who have been hit multiple times.” What he didn’t say, however, is that that relief is contingent on the identification and apprehension of taggers and vandals – an offense which the Oakland Police Department has publicly stated it won’t investigate.Kaplan then noted the implementation plan “is beyond what’s in the text” of the ordinance—another way of saying that currently, there is no implementation plan. “Who’s responsible?” for enforcement, she wondered—a question for which city staff had no answer.

Outgoing Council member Ignacio de la Fuente expressed concern that “we are doing something here that will really penalize the property owner. How are we going to implement? There’s really no process for enforcement.” Schaaf called the ordinance the “first piece of a much larger effort,” noting there are “consequences IF graffiti writers are caught” (emphasis added), then adding, “we can do some positive programs.”

Following a motion by Nadel to add the word “tagging” to the definitions of offenses, and the adoption of the previously-proposed modifications—including the removal of the word “graffiti” from their “Comprehensive Anti-Graffiti Ordinance”—the Council voted to pass the ordinance.

However, the Council’s comments confirm what anyone who has thoroughly looked at the ordinance has already realized: that the measure is far from comprehensive, lacks a cohesive plan for implementation, and as it currently stands, will be a mechanism for fining property owners who are the hardest hit by tag-blighting vandals, while doing nothing to prevent defacement from occurring in the first place.

Those issues are a big reason why the Oakland Community Art Coalition—a group which includes members of the Community Rejuvenation Project, East Side Arts Alliance, Rock Paper Scissors Collective, the Estria Foundation, and I.C.U. –formed. While we remain skeptical about how enforcement will actually be implemented, we are encouraged by the stated intention of city staff and Council to work with community groups to create and enact the positive programs Schaaf referred to.

The OCAC will continue to push for the creation of a Mural Diversion Program, as part of the Restorative Justice measures referenced in the ordinance. We hope the city will see fit to fully adopt the recommendations we have outlined, which is the first step in rethinking abatement strategy to include beautification efforts which not only deter tagging and vandalism, but enhance the quality of life in blighted areas, instill a sense of community ownership, and promote youth development and artistic expression in a way that upholds creation, not destruction.

ARRA Era Murals Part 2

The era of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) murals is here, now. This is part two of the story of mural-jobs created with ARRA funding and the impact these projects are having. It is important to note that the creation of arts related jobs also means jobs for numerous other people associated with the creation of these projects, ranging from landscape designers, builders and cement technicians to engineers.

Santa Cruz, CA

The City of Santa Cruz has long understood the value of building cultural capital. They have created 15 murals so far through their redevelopment Mural Matching Grant program . It’s an intelligent move as they point out:

“Murals contribute to the overall success of the Redevelopment Project Areas through the creation of historical identification, district identification and unification as well as generally enhancing commercial areas and creating a “sense of place.” Exterior wall murals provide the added incentive to property owners of reduced graffiti as “taggers” tend to bypass walls on which murals have been painted and contribute to a graffiti free Santa Cruz.”

I found several examples of murals in Santa Cruz that capture the spirit of the day, a sense of excitement about a positive future that is lurking in the zeitgeist. Systems Mural Project is the brainchild of muralist Brian Barneclo and illustrates a holistic approach to mural making.

Brian writes:

“Systems Mural Project will explore the concept of interconnectivity via a 600 foot panoramic mural painted by San Francisco artist Brian Barneclo. Systems are found in nature (the water cycle) and also created by man (the government). What have we learned about sustainable systems? What works and what doesn’t? Should we revisit ancient technologies? Is the Industrial Age over? It is through this conversation that we gain an understanding of perhaps the most complicated systems of all, our systems of belief.”

Kansas/Oklahoma

The Mid-America Arts Alliance (MAAA) has teamed up with the Kansas Arts Commission and the Oklahoma Arts Council to fund two murals led by artist David Lowenstein. Murals are being created in each state. As with many of the ARRA era murals this project is as much about process as the creation of a beautiful final product that engages community. Included are job training, community and civic engagement and giving voice to disconnected people.

These projects will both be happening in 2010 and will give residents direct hands–on experience in the research, design, and execution of major public artworks for their communities. There will be a video documenting the projects, and you can follow progress on the project blog:

http://loewensteinmuraljournal.blogspot.com/

Philadelphia

The City of Philadelphia continues to be a leader nationally in the area of mural and art jobs creation. They launched a Creative Industry Workforce Grants Program with a half million dollars in year 1. Organizations are creating low cost artists work space, community centers and more.

San Francisco

Digging a little deeper one can find examples of murals as part of an overall development project that will translate into employment for several arts conservationists working in concert with experts in other fields. The City of San Francisco Department of Public Health AIDS Office was awarded 9.5 million dollars over the next 5 years to expand much needed services. They will also bring their facilities up to a LEED silver rating, saving them in utility bills over the long term. Their site at 25 Van Ness Avenue was formally a Masonic Temple built in 1911 and designed by Walter Bliss.

The Ripple Effect

There are several other examples I came across that don’t fall directly under the category of ARRA funds being used to create mural jobs. Each of these agencies did receive ARRA directly from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).

Street SmARTS’s

I was not able to verify if ARRA funds were directly used to fund this program. The San Francisco Arts Commission (SFAC) did receive funds via the NEA in the area of literature. I find it relevant in that jobs were created through cross agency collaboration, and are employing sustainable design concepts.

Another job creation through the arts program is in San Francisco. The San Francisco Arts Commission in collaboration with the Department of Public Works realized they were spending millions on graffiti clean up and the problem was only getting worse.

The solution was to match up artists with business owners to create murals. They had the wisdom and vision to create a program that reduces crime, creates jobs, beautifies the city, provides career development and advancement for artists while building cultural capital overall. 2010 is the pilot year, with 17 murals being produced.

New York

Groundswell Community Mural Project is based in Brooklyn, NY. They received direct ARRA funding through the NEA in the area of arts education. Among their many community based cultural development initiatives are the Summer Leadership Institute (SLI). This summer job creation program for 85 youth is broken into six groups who team up with lead artists and community organizations to develop job skills and create a work of public art.

Image: 2008 “New York City is a Rollercoaster”Acrylic on Cement, 600 Sq. Ft on multiple walls.

One common trend among cities using ARRA funds to create arts related jobs is a willingness to collaborate among city agencies. Leadership is key. The projects described here could be duplicated in any city. The best of these projects seek to seed new creative industry – providing one time start up funds that will lead to long-term job growth. One thing is for sure, more and more municipalities are using the arts in their overall job development strategies. These programs produce jobs that have multiple impacts on the quality of our lives and belief in realizing our dreams and collective aspirations for a sustainable, safe and peaceful future.