Paper Mache
Back in February, I wrote about humankind’s proclivity for painting on walls. This has been occurring for at least 70,000 years or so, anthropologists tell us. I have had a remarkable experience these past few weeks related to painting on a wall in Yuba City. In search of artists for our Mural Marathon project in collaboration with the Yubasutter Rotary Night Club, we sent out a Call to Artists through various channels including the CA Arts Council and the Wide Open Walls organization which commissions many murals each year in Sacramento. The response to our Call was, quite frankly, overwhelming. We received over 100 renderings or concept designs from 53 artists from all over the world. The work was incredible, thoughtful, spot on in terms of the adherence to the required themes and artistically brilliant.
The Yuba-sutter Rotary Night Club applied for and received funding for the project from the CA Creative Corps which was set up by the State to help employ artists. The only caveat was that funded art projects must incorporate one or more of the following themes: public health awareness, environment-related issues, civic engagement, and social justice and community engagement. Our ad hoc mural committee was challenged with selecting five mural designs that it felt best represented the themes but that also demonstrated artistic excellence and that maybe will even challenge the viewer to take a closer look and be inspired by the inherent message in each.
During the Mural Marathon which will occur between Friday, April 19th and Sunday, April
21st, the five artists will create
21’ x 21’ murals on the Church Street side of the Sutter Theater Center for the Arts. That wall of the building is ideal in that it has five distinct, separate recesses where each artist can work. The idea of the Mural Marathon was
SUNDAY EVENTS
– Community-wide Easter Sunrise Service, presented by the Marysville First Presbyterian borrowed from Reno which hosted a similar annual event starting in 2014. We attended one year and watched seven artists create large murals, similar in size to the spaces on the side of the Sutter Theater, on the side of Circus Circus in just 24 hours. Our chosen artists will have 48 hours to complete their murals because we wanted to be a little gentler and give the artists time to rest a bit.
The murals are part of a larger event called a Mural Marathon, Art, and Health Festival. We decided to elevate the creation of public art to that of a spectator sport and enhance community engagement as this giant outdoor art gallery comes to life. On Saturday, April 20th, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., the parking lot directly across the street will be filled with artists sharing their work alongside health organizations sharing resources. Our partners from the Blue Zones Project will be on hand to discuss their work as the leading force for community wellness in Yubasutter. Other organizations will be present to provide information about available resources. Church Street will be closed to enable the safe passage of individuals from the theater to the festival location. We will host a chalk art festival on the adjoining sidewalks where artists young and old can show off their skills while creating their ephemeral chalk creations. The community can also be part of our Paint a Picket community mural project. Individuals can paint their own fence picket portraits which will become a joint installation in several nearby locations displaying the joyful diversity of our area. We’ll also have lots of live music on Saturday with plenty of seating for those who just want to sit and enjoy the experience.