Today I met with community organizer Nicholas Arzio to discuss the anti-graffiti project that he’s working on. Arzio, who almost won an El Cerrito City Council seat in 2014, is a member of the Crime Prevention Committee. Currently he’s gathering resources to have murals painted on frequently-vandalized BART pylons. Just one pylon to start with, but maybe more in the future.
The idea came from seeing art on the sides of vans and trucks, which owners commission to discourage would-be vandals. Arzio also cited public art in Oakland as an inspiration, when he presented his idea to the Arts & Culture Commission on April 27th. San Francisco’s Mission District is another example of a place full of beautiful murals, and I immediately thought of WPA artists from the 1930s.
I’m interested in this project. Depending on how things develop, I might pitch the story to a publication like Pacific Standard or California Sunday. I would talk to local graffiti artists and report opinions from both sides of the issue. People’s responses could reveal interesting cultural expectations.
Of course, I don’t know for sure whether I’ll write about this in depth. It’s hard to predict. Certainly things will take a while: Arzio has been working on the graffiti-prevention initiative since February, but he doesn’t expect painting to start until September. City governance is not speedy.
Arzio and I discussed a lot more, but I’m still processing and figuring out what I want to do. I would love to dig into local government and have El Cerrito and Richmond be my beat… but I’m not sure how feasible that is. Again, we’ll see!