- Equitable
- Collaborative
- Belonging
- Inclusive
- Diverse
- Educational
Thriving communities benefit from universal participation in the arts.
Program Overview
The Community Corners public art project is a program funded by a one-time $25,000 grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies to create an asphalt art mural in the City of Long Beach. Long Beach was one of twenty-six cities granted to administer this program in the United States. This project will be administered by Arts Council for Long Beach in partnership with the City of Long Beach Public Works Department, and Habitat for Humanity.
Arts Council for Long Beach has also secured a matching grant of $25,000 from the JAG Foundation, which has created the opportunity to hire more artists from our community and extend the project’s impact.
The open call will close on [extended deadline] Wednesday, February 22, 2023. Semi-finalists will be selected from this list of applicants and invited to submit a full-color art proposal for the four corners and awarded $250. The finalists will be selected via in-person and virtual community voting from March 15-24 and announced on April 5, 2023.
Key Dates
FEB 3 Launch Calls for Artists
Feb 22 Application Closes [extended deadline]
Mar 3 Semi-finalists Selected
Mar 13 Art Proposals Due
Mar 15 Community Voting Starts
APR 2 Community Voting Ends
APR Finalists Announced
May Mural Installation
May Community Celebration
Let Your Voice Become a Part of History in Long Beach
The Washington Community is one step closer to becoming safer! At the intersections of Chestnut and 15th in Long Beach’s Washington Neighborhood, the Arts Council for Long Beach will be administering a grant in partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies to create asphalt murals in order to promote safer streets for local residents.
In an effort to ensure that the curb extensions reflect the culture and uniqueness of the locals in the neighborhood, we’ve called upon our vast network of Long Beach artists to submit proposals for consideration for this unique project that gives our community the opportunity to participate in this historic, global initiative that has included 64+ cities to date. On March 15th, 2023, voting opens up to our local community, where everyone will have the opportunity to review the submissions and choose the four artists that will be commissioned to complete the project.
Voters are able to participate in person or online from MAR 15 to APR 2. To cast your vote online, click this link. We encourage all to participate, but please only vote once.
If you’d like to vote in person, there are three opportunities to do so:
MAR 15 – 31 Washington Middle School students will be able to vote in their school office during the voting period.
MAR 17 from 2PM to 4PM – 14th St. Skatepark
MAR 23 from 3PM – Long Beach Day Nursery
Your voice matters.
Let this be a start to more collaboration and civic engagement in our community, by bringing everyone together for a historical cause.
project location
washington community
The project will create four bulb-out murals at each corner of the intersection of Chestnut Avenue and 15th Street in the diverse Washington community.
Each mural will expand pedestrian space, substantially reduce crossing length, and will alert drivers of the intersection’s four-way stop by providing a colorful visual signal and improve the overall safety of Long Beach’s most vulnerable road users.
Curb extensions (also known as bump-outs or bulb-outs) are extensions of the sidewalk installed at crossings. This traffic calming treatment is used to visually and physically narrow the roadway. Curb extensions both shorten a pedestrian’s crossing distance between the corners and create additional space for amenities like public art. The existing angled parking along Chestnut Avenue will translate to larger curb extensions, which will provide the community with an especially large “canvas” to work with in the roadway.
NEWS
Check out this area for current updates on the project.
Arts Council for Long Beach Receives APA Award for Grass Roots Initiative
We are thrilled to announce that the Arts Council for Long Beach has been honored with the APA Award for Grass Roots Initiative for our Public Art Community Corners project! This prestigious award celebrates the region's most outstanding planning work, recognizing...
Post Implementation Community Survey – 15th Street and Chestnut Avenue
The City of Long Beach in partnership with the Arts Council for Long Beach and Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles is collecting feedback on the Washington Neighborhood Community Corners Project that was completed in May 2023. The goal of this project is to...
Safer Streets for the Washington Community
ArtsLB launches a Call for Artists to submit concepts for an art installation at the intersection of 15th & Chestnut to improve street safety, revitalize public space and make streets safer for children and youth who use the intersection every day.