Public Art Community Updates

Current Public Art Projects & Opportunities for Community Involvement

NEW! Share Your Thoughts About New Public Art!

September 6-30

The Alameda County Arts Commission is working on 5 new public art projects in the communities of Ashland, Cherryland, Castro Valley, San Lorenzo, and Dublin! Community members are encouraged to get involved with the projects for the Mission Boulevard Corridor Improvement Project and the Alameda County Fire Department Projects. Share your thoughts about your community and your hopes for the future artwork! Your participation is important!

Alameda County Fire Department Projects

Community members who live, work in or regularly visit Castro Valley, San Lorenzo and Dublin are invited to give feedback about the artwork proposals for the Alameda County Fire Department Projects!

View the Artwork Proposals and Submit Comments for each of the four projects:
Fire Station 7 Castro Valley in Palomares Hills
Fire Station 25 Castro Valley on San Miguel Avenue
Fire Station 22 San Lorenzo
Fire Training Center in Dublin

In-Person Displays on view Sept 10-30 at the County Libraries: Castro Valley Library, San Lorenzo Library and Dublin Library.

Feedback forms are not considered voting ballots. We hope comments will describe why the proposals are a good match the community.

About the Project: Alameda County Arts Commission is partnering with the Alameda County Fire Department (ACFD) to integrate public art into ACFD’s new facilities. ACFD is building three new replacement fire stations in unincorporated Alameda County as part of the first phase of Measure X, the Alameda County Fire Department Fire Safety Bond. The three new replacement fire stations include Fire Station 7 in Castro Valley (Palomares Hills), Fire Station 22 in San Lorenzo, and Fire Station 25 in Castro Valley (San Miguel Avenue). Additionally, the County of Alameda, in collaboration with ACFD, is building a new Fire Training Center in Dublin. The Alameda County Arts Commission is working alongside ACFD to integrate public artwork using durable materials appropriate for public spaces, into the replacement fire stations as well as a new Fire Training Center.

Each project has a unique Artist Selection Committee comprised of ACFD representatives and community members. The Committees met in Spring 2025 and invited six semifinalist artists to create visual proposals for each site. The Selection Committees will reconvene in October 2025 to interview the semifinalist artists and review the comments submitted by community members. Each Selection Committee will recommend one artist for their project. The recommended artists and their proposals will be reviewed by the Alameda County Public Art Advisory Committee and the appointed members of Alameda County Arts Commission. The artists’ contracts will be presented to the Alameda County Board of Supervisors for approval in early 2026.

The final artworks will be permanently installed as decorative architectural elements on the building facades and low walls at the station entry areas. For the Fire Training Center, the artwork will be free-standing panels in the landscaped area in front of the building. The selected artists will create new, original artwork specifically for the projects. High-quality reproductions of the original artworks will be printed using porcelain enamel on steel panels, a highly durable material that is commonly used for permanent public artworks.

Presentation
Alameda County Fire Department Public Art Projects Presentation – June 2025

Future Community Participation Opportunities
Community involvement is at the core of these projects.

Sign-up to be on the Arts Commission email list and receive updates. Contact Us.
Give your feedback on the different artwork proposals when on view.
Participate in community meetings and presentations about the project:
– Eden Area Municipal Advisory Council: September 9, 2025
– Dublin Heritage and Cultural Arts Commission: September 11, 2025
– Castro Valley Municipal Advisory Council: September 15, 2025

Mission Boulevard Corridor Improvement Project

About the Project: Alameda County Arts Commission is partnering with the Alameda County Public Works Agency to integrate public art into the Mission Boulevard Corridor Improvement Project. The County of Alameda is working on a corridor improvement project along Mission Boulevard in the unincorporated communities of Cherryland and Ashland from I-238 to the Hayward City limit at Rose Street. The Alameda County Arts Commission is working alongside the Alameda County Public Works Agency to integrate public artwork into the project in the form of cut metal art panels in the street medians, along the sidewalks, and on benches, as well as artwork on street light pole banners and utility box wraps. This project is a continuation of the East 14th Street Corridor Improvement Project.

Project Update: The Artist Selection Committee, comprised of community members, recommends artist Sean Griffin to receive the contract for this project. Artist Sean Griffin’s public art proposal celebrates the natural beauty and community of Cherryland and Ashland. His artwork imagery features the area’s plants, animals, gardens, agricultural past, and the San Lorenzo Creek. The designs will be implemented as cut metal panels on the street medians and integrated into benches and pedestrian safety barriers placed along Mission Boulevard. Additional imagery based on this overall theme will be featured on utility box art wraps and streetlight art banners. The overall theme of the artwork is interconnection, growth, and harmony.

The recommended artist must be reviewed and approved by the Alameda County Public Art Advisory Committee, the Members of Alameda County Arts Commission, and the Alameda County Board of Supervisors.

Presentation
Mission Boulevard Public Art Project Presentation – June 2025

Artist Selection
The artists for these projects will be selected following the Alameda County Arts Commission’s standard process. The Alameda County Artist Registry was used for these projects. The Artist Registry was established in 2021 and is a group of prequalified artists who were selected through an open competitive process and includes artists from 14 Bay Area regional counties. A Project Pool of artists from the Artist Registry was identified and approved by the Alameda County Public Art Advisory Committee and the appointed members of the Alameda County Arts Commission for the ACFD and Mission Blvd projects. Only those artists were considered for these opportunities. The Artist Registry will be reopened to new artists in 2026. Follow the Arts Commission on social media or sign-up for the newsletter to learn about future opportunities.

Dublin Transit Center Parking Garage Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting Event

Alameda County celebrated the completion of the Dublin Transit Center Parking Garage with an official Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting Event on Thursday, June 13. The new parking garage is adjacent to the Dublin-Pleasanton BART station and is intended to limit vehicle miles for commuters and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the Dublin-Livermore-Amador Valley area. This project supports the County’s vision for accessible infrastructure and a healthy environment.

Artist Phillip Hua was selected through an open, competitive process by a Selection Committee of Dublin community members. The artwork is featured on the 5-story glass stair tower at the corner of Campus Drive and Martinelli Way. Hua designed the artwork digitally and the art files were supplied to a specialized fabricator who produced the glass using a highly durable, permanent process called ceramic frit printing.

The design features flocks of birds soaring through the sky symbolizing movement in a natural form. This idea of movement celebrates community members who are in motion, using the parking garage and traveling throughout the Dublin community and beyond. The design features birds found in the Dublin region including hummingbirds, northern flickers, great horned owl, red-tailed hawks, and egrets.

Hua’s public art project is a collaboration with the Dublin community. Hua invited community members to observe Dublin’s natural world and to share ideas of animals, birds, insects and plants to include in the smaller dots found within the overall image. Over 200 community members responded with more than 100 ideas which were used to inspire the small elements in the final artwork. From afar, the design focuses on the flocks of birds while up close, the design contains discoverable images of nature inspired by the community. For more information, see the Public Art Brochure.

Artist Phillip Hua at the Dublin Transit Center Parking Garage Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting Event.

Photo by Ryan Moran.

Left Photo: Artist Phillip Hua standing in front of his artwork design on the 5th floor of the Dublin Transit Center Parking Garage.

Group Photo from Left to Right:
Rachel Osajima, Director of the Alameda County Arts Commission
Ryan Reichert, Artist Selection Committee Member
Sherry Hu, Vice Mayor for the City of Dublin
Darren Phillips, Vice Chair of the Heritage and Cultural Arts Commission
Julia Tomtania, Artist Selection Committee Member
A. Kelly Paschal-Hunter, Artist Selection Committee Member
David Haubert, Alameda County Supervisor for District 1
Herb Hastings, Paratransit Advisory and Planning Committee Member and Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority Board Member
Phillip Hua, Artist for the Dublin Transit Center Parking Garage
Jean Josey, City of Dublin Councilmember
Michael McCorriston, City of Dublin Mayor
Winda Shimizu, Alameda County Arts Commissioner
Usha Shukla, Alameda County Arts Commissioner

Photos by Ryan Moran.

Utility Box Art Program and Streetlight Pole Banner Program
Castro Valley & Lewelling Blvd

The Alameda County Arts Commission is launching a new phase of art designs for the Utility Box Art Program and the Streetlight Pole Banner Program. The new designs will be installed on County-controlled traffic signal utility boxes and streetlight pole banners in the unincorporated community of Castro Valley and along the Lewelling Boulevard corridor. The overall goal is to help support a positive and welcoming environment. The new designs will replace the current designs and will be installed beginning in 2024. Existing artworks created by Alameda County artists who are currently in the Alameda County Artist Registry will be reproduced for the program. The art designs will be printed as vinyl wraps for the utility boxes and on banner material.

Read the latest Community Updates including a list of the recommended artists and see examples of their artwork:
Castro Valley Community Update, June 2023
Lewelling Boulevard Community Update, June 2023

The final approval of the recommended artists will be reviewed by the Alameda County Public Art Advisory Committee, the Castro Valley Municipal Advisory Council, the Eden Area Municipal Advisory Council, the Members of Alameda County Arts Commission, and the Alameda County Board of Supervisors.

The Alameda County Arts Commission manages the County’s Utility Box Art Program which is funded by the Alameda County Public Works Agency. The Arts Commission coordinates the art designs for the Streetlight Pole Banner Program which is managed and funded by the Alameda County Economic and Civic Development Department.

Hesperian Blvd Corridor Improvement Project Ribbon Cutting Event

Alameda County celebrated the completion of the Hesperian Boulevard Corridor Improvement Project in the San Lorenzo Community with an official Ribbon Cutting Event on Saturday, February 4.

The Hesperian Boulevard Corridor Improvement Project extends from the I-880 freeway overpass to A Street in the San Lorenzo community in unincorporated Alameda County. Motorists, pedestrians, bicyclists, transit riders, and residents in the San Lorenzo community will enjoy a revitalized, safe, and accessible commercial corridor.

Artist Vanessa Marsh was selected through an open, competitive process by a Selection Committee of community members who live and work in San Lorenzo. The overall theme of the artwork is “The Sky Above and Below.” The artwork references the connections and shared experiences of the local natural environment of San Lorenzo. Marsh’s designs are based on her photographs of San Lorenzo. Using the photographs, Marsh created handmade silhouette paintings of plants and birds common to San Lorenzo including hummingbirds, hawks, blackbirds, gulls, sandpipers, and sycamore, olive, and honey locust trees. The silhouetted paintings were then digitized and used to make metal stencils for sandblasting on the concrete sidewalks along Hesperian Boulevard and featured on street banners and utility boxes. For more information, see the Public Art Brochure.

The Public Artwork for the Hesperian Boulevard Corridor Improvement Project was managed by the Alameda County Arts Commission in partnership with the Alameda County Public Works Agency. The funds are provided through the “Percent for Art” Ordinance established by the Alameda County Board of Supervisors. In addition, the artworks are featured on the street banners through a partnership with the Alameda County Economic & Civic Development Department. The utility box art program is made possible through a partnership with the Alameda County Public Works Agency.

Image at right: Stencil sandblasted artwork designs created by Artist Vanessa Marsh along Hesperian Boulevard. Photos by Vanessa Marsh.

Artist Vanessa Marsh at the Hesperian Boulevard Corridor Improvement Project Ribbon Cutting Event. Photo by artist Paul Kuroda.

Public artwork by Artist Vanessa Marsh for the Hesperian Boulevard Corridor Improvement Project

Hesperian Boulevard Corridor Improvement Project - Community Leaders

From Left to Right:
Daryl Camp, Superintendent San Lorenzo Unified School District
Mimi Dean, Vice-Chairperson of the Eden Area Municipal Advisory Council
Tyler Dragoni, Chairperson of the Eden Area Municipal Advisory Council
Diane Wydler, Councilmember of the Eden Area Municipal Advisory Council and President of the San Lorenzo Village Homes Association
Daniel Woldesenbet, Director of the Alameda County Public Works Agency
Barisha Spriggs, Alameda County Democratic Central Committee Member
Michael Freed, Councilmember of the Eden Area Municipal Advisory Council
Vanessa Marsh, Artist for the Hesperian Boulevard Corridor Improvement Project
Donald Clowser, San Lorenzo Community Member and Former Member of the Eden Area Municipal Advisory Council
Rachel Osajima, Director of the Alameda County Arts Commission

Photo by artist Paul Kuroda.

From Left to Right:
Grace Karr, Alameda County Arts Commissioner
Rachel Osajima, Director of the Alameda County Arts Commission
Diane Wydler, Councilmember of the Eden Area Municipal Advisory Council and President of the San Lorenzo Village Homes Association
Randy Waage, San Lorenzo Community Member and Arts Supporter
Danielle Wilson, Irvington Library Manager and Artist Selection Committee Member
Christine Dowell, Artist Selection Committee Member
Scott Miner, Public Art Advisory Committee Member
Barisha Spriggs, Alameda County Democratic Central Committee Member
Vanessa Marsh, Artist for the Hesperian Boulevard Corridor Improvement Project
Donald Clowser, San Lorenzo Community Member and Former Member of the Eden Area Municipal Advisory Council
Eileen Dalton, Director of the AC Economic & Civic Development Department and Alameda County Arts Commissioner
Halimah Anderson, Public Information Officer, AC Public Works Agency

Photo by artist Paul Kuroda.

Public Art by Artist Vanessa Marsh for the Hesperian Boulevard Corridor Improvement Project

Artwork designs created by artist Vanessa Marsh were used to make metal stencils for sandblasting on the concrete sidewalks along Hesperian Boulevard and featured on street banners and utility boxes.

Public Art for Hesperian Boulevard Corridor Improvement Project

Public Art Program in Ashland

The Alameda County Arts Commission is happy to announce the completion of the public artwork by artist Miriam Klein Stahl for the East 14th Street Corridor Improvement Project in the Ashland community of unincorporated Alameda County. The artwork is in the form of cut metal art panels placed in the street medians and along the sidewalks, on seating, and featured on street banners and utility boxes. To learn more, view the public art brochure here.