CLERLAKE>>> As part of the Clean Clearlake project, the movement Citizens Caring 4 Clearlake has opened a Call for Artists (CFA) for mural projects in the downtown corridor. The goal is not only enhancing the aesthetics of the town, but also to play a crucial role in reducing litter, besides fostering community pride.
“We have been around for about 20 years. We handle a lot of projects around Clearlake. Our goal is to basically reduce trash in Lake County. We do a lot of cleanups, but also beautification. We’re also working on a day work program where folks from probation and the homeless shelter have work opportunities to help with cleanups,” said the General Manager at Citizens Caring 4 Clearlake, Akriti Wong.
The opportunity for the artists aims to make a lasting impact on the community while showcasing their artistic skills. The movement believes in the power of art to transform spaces and unite communities, with the artists being part of this transformation, leaving their artistic legacy in Clearlake and being a driving force behind the town’s revitalization. Citizens Caring 4 Clearlake’s goal is to work together to make Clearlake a cleaner, more beautiful and artistically vibrant place to call home with creative visions coming to life through the murals.
“We definitely do want folks who have previous mural experience as a grant funded project. We put out requests for artists and the blind submission process. November 3 is the last day to submit the designs. We submit them to the City. They don’t know who did what, and then they’re gonna select their favorite design from there,” Wong said.
Applications can be filled out at cleanclearlake.com.
The Clean Clearlake project is funded through the Clean California grant project, “That is all about litter abatement, beautification, improving our streets and making them more walkable. There are multiple components. There’s some infrastructure portion. What we handle – Citizens Caring 4 Clearlake – is we do the freedom days. We have eight freedoms days. We have three more left, one coming up in November, December and January, and they’re open to all Clearlake residents. We do it at Redbud Park. They can bring anything for free that they can take to the landfill. So far, we’ve removed over 80 tons of garbage. We’re also doing multiple cleanups around Clearlake. We work directly with code enforcement to go and clean up illegal dump sites. We do one or two cleanups a week,” she explained.
The other portion it is beautification – and that is where the murals come in. “We have murals up at Castle Donuts, the Chamber building and in Linda’s. We have more murals coming up at the Police Department and Adventist Hilltop,” said Wong. “We’re also doing augmented reality art (AR) and a lot of interactive murals. The last component of the Clean Clearlake is at education. We’ve been going into the schools and we’ve been talking about it, teaching them about recycling. We’re going to go into the landfill and make a video there to show folks what can go to the landfill, what you can compost. This project runs through June of 2024.”
