Merced city plans more public art to celebrate local artists and beautify the city

The City of Merced has seen and increase in public art in recent years with the addition of painted electrical boxes and murals throughout the city. City officials say more public art is in the works.

Merced City spokesperson Jennifer Flachman said the city has plans to add to the existing art pieces as the effort to beautify the city and showcase local artists continues.

One of the ways the city celebrated art and local artists was during the second annual photography exhibition Falling in Love With Merced at the Merced Civic Center, which was scheduled for Dec. 14. The event was to feature original photographs captured in Merced by local ammeter and professional photographers. The city said the event not only provides photographers a platform to share their work, it also allows them to gain exposure and connect with the community.

Flachman said the city has plans for a spring or summer brown bag concert series that would showcase local musicians and musical groups during free Friday afternoon concerts.

In 2021, the Merced Arts and Culture Advisory Commission chose fifteen local artists to help beautify the city by painting gray utility boxes along West Main Street, 18th Street and 16th Street in downtown Merced. Flachman said the city plans to deaccession the artwork and refresh the electrical boxes by putting out an Request for Proposal to find artists who’s designs will be applied to the boxes in the form of a vinyl wrap.

In 2023 the Merced City Council approved to accept $850,000 in grant funding intended to support the installation of gateway monuments on various state routes. The city also received $350,000 in funding through Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Clean California initiative, to support the installation of eight murals on highway underpasses throughout the city. Funding for the projects came from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s $1.2 billion Clean California initiative.

“Our council is very committed to public art and large art installations to beautify the city,” said Flachman.

Murals have also gone up next to the skate park in Applegate Park and on a building near the entrance to the Applegate Park Zoo. Flachman said there are even talks about adding an interactive mural in the R Street underpass near Fahrens Park. The park could even see a sculpture made of collected trash items at some point in the future.

According to Flachman, most of the artists whose work has gone up throughout the city are local to the area.

“There’s this huge community of artists, professional artists, that have made an impact all throughout the valley,” Flachman said.

This story was originally published December 21, 2024 at 6:00 AM.