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.

The Wall Remixed

Here is some interesting news on how murals are being employed as a tool for economic revitalization and workforce development.

The Wall Remixed: The North Philadelphia Small Business Advertising Campaign is a multi-media collaboration among renowned artists Carl Pope, Mari Hulick and Homer Jackson, theMural Arts Program and Philagrafika 2010. 

Using images created by students in the Mural Arts Program's ArtWorks! education program and input from local business owners, the artists designed 25 billboards and posters that visually celebrate North Philadelphia's small businesses and community organizations. The project is designed to increase awareness of resources and have a positive economic impact on businesses in this culturally mixed neighborhood. The billboards will be displayed through March, thanks to a partnership with Clear Channel Outdoor.

You can visit http://tinyurl.com/ykreg6y for a map of the billboard, business and organization locations. 

Stim-U-Murals: The New Era of ARRA Murals

Newark NJ: cWOW's "It Takes a Village Mural"-2009  

By Michael B Schwartz

As we wade through what seems to be a never ending “recession” American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) monies have moved like molasses through the calcified state and federal bureaucracy to the local level. Finally projects and programs are getting started, hammers are starting to swing, welding torches are being fired up, and paint-brushes are swinging into action.

Federal ARRA funding has been used to successfully sustain five mural arts programs and I’m sure there are other examples that will surface in the coming months. Each of the projects below are, or soon will be, employing muralists. These works will become the first round in a new chapter of American mural history; the ARRA Era of Murals.

Arlene Goldbards’ article on CAN: The Long Hot Summer of Service: Community Artists on the Job broke the story on the first use of stimulus dollars for community arts work in Philadelphia, PA and Newark, NJ. These are dollars separate from ARRA funds that were redistributed by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).

Philadelphia, PA

The Philadelphia Mural Arts Program will receive 1.35 million to continue ground breaking youth violence reduction programs, restorative justice and a series of civic engagement projects that will result in the creation of numerous murals. Some examples of this work has already been unveiled and can be seen on the groups website.

Newark, NJ

City Without Walls  in New Jersey is an  amazing organization. In addition to creating new works, they are connecting their work to past traditions, like the work of muralist Ben Shahn. Ben was not only a celebrated photographer, and assistant to Diego Rivera on several projects including the Rockerfeller Plaza mural. Another Ben, Ben Goldman is the executive director of cWOW and a visual artist. What I love about this organization is the spirit of innovation in the face of adversity. You may recall Mr. Goldman as the author of the “Arts Stimulus Plan for New Jersey and the Nation”. This beautiful concise proposal called for one percent of ARRA to be directed towards the arts.

cWOW celebrated seven new works in 2009, with many new projects in the pipeline. I consider this project to be among the most articulate, inspiring and tested programs in the nation. Clearly this model has provided meaningful, and measurable impacts that illustrate just how the arts can be used to “retrofit” our economy.

In addition to these two early success stories news is breaking of other visionary communities who are using murals as part of ARRA. I also looked at a series of roadway and percent for art projects, but have not yet been able to verify that these projects were designating monies specifically towards murals.

Helena, MT

This band shell in Montana will get a new community mural with ARRA funding.

Across the country in Helena, Montana, stimulus money is being used to create a mural in the band shell at Memorial Park. In December they had a community brainstorm meeting, an opportunity for the public to decide what they would like to see in the mural. This process literally practices democracy, and illustrates the power of community arts projects. While there are some critics of this project, a budget has been established for the artwork and the city is moving ahead with a request for proposals process. This is good news for the many talented artists who have made Helena a beacon for culture and creativity.

Carson City, NV

Artists mock up for project proposal.

Another proposed project will bring a history mural to the highways of Carson City Nevada.  The History in Motion Project proposed by the city and Gardeners Reclaiming Our Waysides (GROW) would blend murals with horticultural elements to depict the history and life of the famous Nevada town. Some funds have been secured for the project, and they also are still in the public input phase. You can check out what they are doing, and follow their progress on the City’s website.

Chicago, IL

The Green Hills Community Wall Mural is a "community wall" ceramic mural that will extend the length of the Green Hills Public Library. The mural’s theme will reflect the historical and cultural elements related to the area and it’s residents. You are invited to bring a “small rock or stone from your country of origin and it will be installed in the mural to symbolize the diversity of our Library District”. There are community workshops Monday, March 22^nd from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm. 

Hartford, CT

The Hartford Arts & Heritage Jobs Grant Program is by far my favorite, so I save it for last. While in Phase 1 of this program there were no specific murals funded, the list of projects funded warmed my heart and will be an inspiration to you as well.

They are now in phase two of their process, and it’s an exciting model I hope municipalities will explore. Artists can get grants of $ 5- 25,000 to support their businesses. The grant is intended to help “Arts-centric businesses, organizations and individual artists play an important role in building and sustaining economic vibrancy: they employ people, spend money locally, revitalize neighborhoods, and are a cornerstone of tourism.  As an indirect economic benefit, tourists patronize restaurants, parking lots, hotels, and other businesses, which employ Hartford residents.”

Keep in mind that any community in the country could have done this. Hats off to David Panagore, the Director of the Hartford Development Services , and the Greater Hartford Arts Council. You are a beacon for the nation and deserve an award of the highest merit.

In San Francisco the Department of Human Services is administering federal stimulus funds to cover 100% of wage through September of this year. I know of at least one arts group that has used this program to find a position. You can find out more here.

Conclusion

Each city, town, county and state has taken a different approach with their ARRA funding. Clearly many communities have discovered a way to integrate the arts into their strategy for economic recovery and blazed a path for others to follow.

The mural projects I uncovered using ARRA funds are infused with a democratic spirit. While this process is inherent in the community mural movement, it’s interesting to note this is a very different methodology than that employed by WPA era muralists. We’ll have to wait and see what the long term out-comes are to the ARRA era murals and if they will be compared to the great WPA era murals. 

Looking towards a new decade many continue to aspire for a new framework for cultural policy in the United States. Opportunities exist in the reauthorization of pieces of legislation, the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) not the least among them. New sources of funding that promote “community engagement”, “innovation” and “retrofitting” are fertile soil for community artists.

As in the days of our grandparents and great grandparents these are times when we’re forced to lift ourselves up by our own boot-straps. What I’m hoping is that the demonstration projects that are emerging from the grassroots and enlightened cities like Hartford, Helena, Newark, Philadelphia and Carson City pave the way for a new national creative works program, and as described in Art and the Public Purpose one that, “Uses creativity for the common good, engages all of us., builds on cultural memory, puts artists to work to support cultural recovery, stand for free expression and supporting democratic media.”