Pollinate Your Community - CRP rocks Ashland Cherryland over the Weekend!

Photos by Eric Arnold

Last Saturday, the Community Rejuvenation Project artists descended on an unincorporated district of Hayward like a swarm of bees. Ashland and Cherryland are two of the most unregulated districts in the Alameda county. Not recognized as sovereign cities or as a part of the city of Hayward, the area has become a dumping ground for both criminals and corporations. Their incorporated status has left Ashland and Cherryland without government spokespeople to stand up and advocate for the area. Now local residents have decided to take measures into their own hands. This past weekend, the Ashland Cherryland Garden and Arts Network (ACGAN) organized a day of action in concert with a series of national events put on by 350.org, including the painting of a mural on a fence located at one of Ashland's most notorious corners, Laurel and Princeton. CRP artists Beats 737, Pancho Pescador, Mike 360, and Desi W.O.M.E, along with photographer, Eric Arnold and new intern, Seongeun Bak created an elaborate piece dedicated to bees and their role as pollinators. Their message to "Pollinate Your Community" reflects the goal of spreading gardens, arts and new life through Ashland. Local resident, event organizer and fence owner, Susan Beck made pancakes for the crew, who had to return Sunday morning to finalize some minor touch-ups. She told the artists that drivers were always slowing down to check out the new work and that everyone who passed by had nothing but positive responses to the new work. Look forward to new artwork in the surround gardens throughout the area!
 Listen to the story below:
  Ashland Cherryland KPFA interview by CRP Bay Area
 From the KPFA Weekend News

Ashland, Cherryland March Towards a Greener Community

Story and Video by Analisa Harangozo for the San Lorenzo Patch

A crowd of over 30 people from Ashland, Cherryland and nearby communities marched down East 14^th Street on Saturday, rallying for a greener, safer neighborhood.

It was one of thousands of events put on around the world as part of 350.org’s Moving Planet Movement, a grassroots initiative aimed at solving the climate crisis.

The Ashland Cherryland Garden & Arts Network hosted the local day-long event. Members said their goal was to educate the community on finding alternatives to using fossil fuels.

The rally was also joined by Union City's Ollin Anahuac Aztec Dance Group and was funded by Supervisor Nate Miley and Mercy Housing.

The parade down East 14th Street began at Ashland’s Jack Holland Sr. Park and ended at an empty lot on the corner of Mission Boulevard and Mattox Road. The site is in the process of becoming a co-operative neighborhood marketplace and has gained support from Supervisor Miley.

There’s also discussion of possibly relocating the Cherryland Community Center from Hampton Road to the site of the future marketplace.

Mandela Marketplace, a non-profit promoting co-op food enterprises, will help supply some of the produce. However, many items will come from farms and gardens in Ashland and Cherryland.

For those living in these communities, the marketplace will be a resolution to their long-time struggle of being a food desert,organizers say.

Currently, over 1,500 people living in these areas have low access to fresh, affordable produce, according to The Food Desert Locator, a data provider supported by multiple government agencies. 

Also among that population, 4.1 percent of housing units have low access and live without a car.

Not only would the martketplace provide these people with produce, it would be community-driven, placing Ashland and Cherryland residents in the forefront of revitalizing their local economy. 

The event ended with a potluck dinner at one of Cherryland’s community gardens. ACGAN member Susan Beck offered her front yard fence as a canvas for a bee-inspired mural completed that same day.

The Oakland-based organization Community Rejuvenation Project painted the mural to serve as an artistic reminder how these gardens have been pollinating positive change among the community.

Check out the video above to see all the components of the event and how they unfolded throughout the day.

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"SunRay (dedicated to Mike Dream)"

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"Elijah will burn you in his bathrobe..."

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"Vulcan & P.H.A.S.E.2"

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 "Daz - Pine Ridge, South Dakota"

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"Hipnotic, Rebel Diaz, Afrika Bambaataa, and fam at the Rebel Diaz Arts Collective.
Mural by the Community Rejuvenation Project"

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"Sacred Circle"

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"Time for Change - Increase the Peace"

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"War on Meth"

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"Warriors Of Mother Earth - Peace & Dignity"

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"Shiva Shakti"

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"The Beginning of Trails"

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"Ancient Meditations"

CRP Artists in Residency Take the Lead Renewing the Funktown Arts District

For the past two weeks, CRP Albuquerque artists, Release, Bryan, and Tosh, have been participating in the CRP Bay Area Artist in Residency program. During this time, they led the completion of the updates to the mural on the Parkway Theater, painted two electrical boxes in the area and were commissioned to do two signs in the neighborhood as well. The new blood was inspiration for the collective. Mike 360, Dora, Desi, Beats and Pancho all came out to participate in the project which also consisted of redoing a defaced door on the union hall and restoring the Rejuvenation mural on the corner. Earlier in the week, Pancho Pescador returned to add his butterfly stencils to the Parkway theater which completed the project.

CRP says "Good-Bye" to our Korean Intern, Cheolwoo

For the past two months, CRP has been blessed with a full time intern from Korea, Cheolwoo Kim. Cheolwoo flew back to Korea on Sunday, so last Friday, the collective decided to take him out for a night on the town.  Cheolwoo did a lot of work for the collective, making relations with business owners in Koreatown and helping set-up projects that will be happening in the coming months. He also did tons of research for us in publishing and made some good contacts for future book projects. Cheolwoo immersed himself quickly and smoothly with us.  He knows how to take a joke and to tell one. He also taught us a lot about Korean culture. For his last night with us, Desi attended his internship graduation before bringing him back for Indian food with the artists in residency, Steven and Bryan, as well as Beats and Dave. Afterwards, we took Cheolwoo to Art Murmur, where he got to see Jennifer Johns rock the mic on the G4G mobile solar sound system. We were sad to see Cheolwoo go, but we are hoping to visit him in Korea and paint some walls. In the meantime, we wish him the best!