Press Release: Bay Area Mural Festival Bringing 10 New Murals To Richmond
Richmond Art Center to host Closing Celebration on Sunday, October 8, 1:00 pm – 6:00 pm
RICHMOND, CA — September 25, 2017 — The 2nd Annual Bay Area Mural Festival (BAMFest 2017) is bringing together 10 master muralists and 2 East Bay youth groups in the painting of 10 environmentally themed murals October 2-8 in Richmond, CA.
The festival will end with a Closing Celebration at Richmond Art Center Sunday, October 8, 2017 from 1:00 pm – 6:00 pm with community painting, performances by local musicians and dancers, kids activities, and bike tours of the new murals, which is free admission and open to the public. The murals will run along Macdonald Ave. in Downtown Richmond. More information on the closing celebration at www.bamfest.org.
“Hosting the closing celebration of the Bay Area Mural Festival is a wonderful opportunity to welcome new faces and old friends to the Richmond Art Center,” says Ric Ambrose, Executive Director. “We welcome the opportunity to join with other nonprofits organizations and the Richmond community, in providing local and creative arts experiences, and celebrating our local artists.”
The Bay Area Mural Festival Closing Celebration is FREE ADMISSION and family-friendly: Sunday, October 8, 2017 from 1:00 pm – 6:00 pm at the Richmond Art Center, located at 2540 Barrett Ave, Richmond, California 94804. Live Painting, Kids Activities, Mural Tours and Live music by Mistica Ancestral, Monreal Latin Jazz, PachangaMama and more!
With support from the California Arts Council, La Peña Cultural Center has partnered with Los Pobres Artistas mural group, Richmond Art Center, Earth Team and other invited artists and organizations to produce the 2nd Annual Bay Area Mural Festival (BAMFest 2017) this fall.
Participating mural artists for BAMFest Richmond 2017:
Anti-eviction Mapping Project with Carla Wojczuk
Griffin One
John Wehrle
KeeNa Romano/ Agana/ Dime
Pablitosomething
R.M.Salazar
Ssali
Suaro Cervantes
Urban Aztec
Youth mural teams and leaders:
Earth Team with Malik Seneferu
Gateway To College Contra Costa College with Los Pobres Artistas Collective
Pictured: One of thirteen murals created on the Berkeley-Oakland Border for BAMFest 2016. Artist: Teo Vidaingravita. Location: 3027 Adeline St. Berkeley, CA
The 2nd Annual Bay Area Mural Festival will use the mural arts to engage East Bay youth, local Bay Area artists and the Richmond community through beautification and placemaking activities. The festival will produce 8 professional murals and 2 youth designed murals to call attention to issues of environmental degradation, pollution and climate change. The project will engage 10 local California mural artists, 8 working on their own projects and 2 as teaching artists. The teaching artists will work with local youth in Richmond in hands-on arts training activities leading to the preparation and execution of the mural festival.
“BAMFest 2017 provides employment to California muralists as well as arts training opportunities and workshops for local youth that are often battling poverty and youth joblessness. Plus, it promotes cultural diversity and opportunities to foster more community engagement in the Bay Area,” said Sarah Siskin, BAMFest’s project coordinator and a member of Bay Area mural collective Los Pobres Artistas.
“We are excited to be partnering with the Richmond Arts Center and other local organizations to have as much of a positive impact as possible for the Richmond community, as well as participating youth, artists and local businesses,” she added.
La Peña Cultural center’s Co-Directors Natalia Neira and Bianca Torres issued a joint statement: “The Bay Area Mural Festival is an extension of La Peña’s mission to create peace and social justice through accessible cultural arts, education and community action. BAMFest 2017 is an opportunity to creatively respond to a global environmental crisis with very real local effects to the air we breathe and the water we drink.”
The California Arts Council awarded $36,900 to La Peña Cultural Center to fund the 2nd annual Bay Area Mural Festival (BAMFest 2017) as part of its Creative California Communities program.
“The transformative nature of the Creative California Communities program is so powerful. It’s thrilling to see grantees use the arts and creative expression to reinvigorate spaces, and by extension, area residents and visitors,” said California Arts Council Chair Donn K. Harris. “The potential a creative placemaking project like BAMFEST 2017 has to inspire and rejuvenate a community is truly immeasurable.”
The mission of the California Arts Council, a state agency, is to advance California through the arts and creativity. The Council is committed to building public will and resources for the arts; fostering accessible arts initiatives that reflect contributions from all of California’s diverse populations; serving as a thought leader and champion for the arts; and providing effective and relevant programs and services.
Last year the California Arts Council awarded La Peña funds to create the first Bay Area Mural Festival, which created 13 new murals in the Berkeley-Oakland border. Visit the BAMFEST website to see a map of the new murals, pictures, artist bios and more: http://bamfest.org/
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