Alameda County Arts Commission Seeks Public Input

From Alameda County Arts Commission: The Alameda County Arts Commission is beginning to work on Community Identifier Projects in three of Alameda County’s unincorporated communities: Castro Valley, San Lorenzo, and Ashland/Cherryland. The Community Identifier Projects involve designing and painting the name of the community along with other design elements on freeway overpasses. The overall goal is to create community gateway markers that help support a positive and welcoming environment for both the community and visitors. Practicing, professional artists will be selected through an open competitive selection process to design and paint the Community Identifiers.

The projects will have multiple steps involving community engagement and feedback as well as reviews by local community groups, the Members of the Alameda County Arts Commission, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors and the CA State Department of Transportation (Caltrans). The Arts Commission encourages participation from community members. Currently, there are two ways for the community to be involved in the projects: 1) a Community Survey and 2) an Interest Form to serve on a Selection Committee. The deadline to respond to the Community Survey and the Interest Form has been extended to January 31, 2017.

Community members are invited to respond to a short Community Survey. The survey responses will be shared with the selection committees who will be choosing artists for these projects and also with the artists who are invited to make proposals for the projects. The survey is available online here. The deadline for responses to the survey has been extended to January 31, 2017.

The Arts Commission is also seeking community members to serve on the committees to select the artists and the designs for the Community Identifier Projects. Three unique committees will be formed, one for each community. Each Selection Committee will include four to five community members plus two arts professionals. The Arts Commission seeks to include a group of community members with diverse experiences and perspectives who are actively involved in the community and are interested in contributing in the success of the projects and the designs. No experience is necessary. Community members must be 18 years or older. Each committee will meet for two all-day meetings, once in March 2017 and once in September 2017. Community members interested in serving on the Selection Committee for their community should complete an Interest Form here. The deadline for the Interest Forms has been extended to January 31, 2017.

Paper copies of both the Community Survey and Interest Form to serve on a Selection Committee are available. Contact the Arts Commission office at (510) 208-9646 to receive a paper copy. English and Spanish versions are available.

More opportunities for community involvement are being planned for the future including Community Roundtables with the artists making proposals for the projects in the Spring of 2017 and public displays and comments about the artists’ proposals in the Summer of 2017. Community members who want to receive updates about the projects should send an email to artscommission@acgov.org to be added to the Arts Commission’s email list.

For more information about the Community Identifier Projects, contact the Alameda County Arts Commission at (510) 208-9646.

Image via Pixabay