In spring of 2013 Eduardo Pineda's 2013 ENGAGE: Mural Arts class continued work during the second year of a three year project which created murals for the barrier fence surrounding the 601 City Center construction site in downtown Oakkland (bounded by 11th and 12th Streets, Jefferson and Martin Luther King Jr. Streets) for Shorenstein Properties LLC. This was part of ENGAGE@CCA, a community-engagement program of CCA’s Center for Art and Public Life.
In this second year, at Jack London Gateway Senior Housing, a ten-minute walk from the site, to express what seniors contribute to and value about their community – diverse cultural perspectives, unity, and love. The murals also expressed ongoing concerns with safety and interconnection, the importance of nature, and the celebration of neighborhood culture. Eight murals were created and installed on the Martin Luther King Jr. Way and 11th Street sides of the site. The mural designs used anecdotes from the seniors as springboards to create playful images composed of resident characters, local architecture, landmarks, cityscapes, birds, and shared doodles. In addition to student collaborative design work, the students volunteered in activities at Jack London Gateway Senior Housing provided by East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation. CCA international students David Sun and David Yamato were recruited to assist with Mandarin/English translations during interactions with residents in the design process.
In total, three Mural Arts classes worked to develop a vibrant temporary visual environment in downtown Oakland during the period of the Great Recession of the late 2000s, when construction of the 601 City Center office tower was halted, and the site was left unbuilt. The murals were painted on panels and were rearranged once, when construction was restarted, in order to accommodate the changing configuration of the barrier fencing. The building was completed and opened in 2019, and the murals were destroyed.
Type
image
Format
painting mural painting born digital 8 murals on panel 8 x 8 ft. each image/jpeg
Pineda, Eduardo Acona, Samuel Broyard, Henri Collins, Nicolas DePaulis, Eduardo Edgar, Robin Fielden, Corie Garcia, Linda Horner, Brittany Kalajian, Brianna Mezidor, Guerda Murphy, Kristin Orozco, Cristian Pieper, Eden Suenaga, Satoru Szabo, Stephanie Wiener, Weston Sun, David Yamato, David
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