In June 2022, downtown Concord became a more colorful place when six murals brought drab buildings to life with bright depictions of wild birds, indigenous culture and futuristic landscapes, each as unique as the artist who created it.
Turns out, it was just the beginning. In 2023, another six murals were added, and in the coming weeks, yet more will emerge — for a total of 18 — in the small-business district around Todos Santos Plaza.
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The large, shady plaza is everything a city could want as a community gathering spot, witness the legions of lawn-chair schlepping families and friends at the city’s Thursday night Music & Market summer concert series. But Sage and Tari Loring – arts-event producers behind Creative Local Edition – sensed a missed opportunity.
“We were noticing all kinds of public art around the Bay Area, but not in Concord,” said Tari Loring. Not only is Concord a great, multicultural community, she said, but it’s home to many artists who have to go to Oakland or San Francisco to present their work.
The Lorings, who live on the Concord/Walnut Creek border, approached city officials in 2021 with a pitch to partner on an experience that would be “unlike any existing arts programs in the Bay Area,” Tari Loring said. The result was Creative Concord, a celebration of arts, culture and community that began with murals and now culminates each year in a weekend celebration — the Art and Music Jam, Oct. 5-6 — that invites the public to Todos Santos Plaza to wander between 16 artists working on large-scale canvases to the backdrop of live music. It’s jointly produced by the Creative Local Edition, the City of Concord and Visit Concord.
Now in its third year, the event features local musicians, as well as interactive booths where the public can engage in hands-on activities with artists and arts organizations. Highlights include the installation of a new mosaic in Salvio Pacheco Square, where visitors can hear a pop-up opera performance on Sunday afternoon. Other community organizations on …read more
Source:: The Mercury News – Entertainment
