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Report on Citizen Research from Imagine San Rafael Mapping project

4/29/2015

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From our Imagine San Rafael Project:

AQUA TAGS
(what people would like to see in San Rafael):

Pie shop with coffee and breakfast.

I so appreciate and feel so fortunate to live in an area where so much natural beauty is preserved in open spaces, state parks, and national parks.

Prune trees on median to look healthy.

More music on the streets during holidays.

I would love to see the Italian Street Painting Festival com back regularly.

A skate park - a good one downtown.

Concerts downtown like the ones that stopped Falkirk a few years back.

4th Street pedestrian only - but with a set-aside bike lane.

Music, art, people & good food.

A dedicated bike path on Wolfe Grade would be great!!

A skate park downtown perhaps!

Soccer field.

A pet shop for animals and a pool for everyone.


I would love to see businesses stay open later (ghost town after 8:00 pm.

Fixed up tennis court in Gerstle Park.

Would like to see downtown 4th Street closed to traffic - pedestrian only zone.

More trees in Albert Park.

A large interactive, constantly changing mural.

I’d love to see colorful bike paths to connect parts of our city and help keep everyone safe and healthy.

I would like to see an open air market.

Street performers (not just at Farmers Market) - jugglers, musicians, etc. to make downtown more appealing.

2nd and 3rd Streets two way again.

Safe places for the homeless to stay.

B Street by the 7/11 is a bit dicey.

We have a beautiful waterway but it’s tough to find a place to enjoy it. 

Montecito Plaza should have picnic benches & an outdoor restaurant by the water.

High speed rail to SF & East Bay.

I wish there was a bridge here.

More letterboxes.

Connect San Pedro School with the Canal so kids can ride their bikes to school.

Local pop-up food events.

Open land is so welcoming - we have tons of nature.

A teen cafe or youth center - they need somewhere to hang.

A bike path without cars parked for kids to ride to Davidson & SR High.

Beautiful lighting design and landscaping under the freeway.

More ART PLEASE! - Finn, age 11

Public access would be great.

Free shop - free good food, phones, tablets and ovens.

More integrated transportation with East Bay - begin with ferry service.

I would like to see more places to “be” - sit and read, be quiet and converse.

Multicultural community center

PINK TAGS (what people love)

Inkwells - swimming hole.

Love walking here - with family, kids, dogs & friends.

Terra Linda open space - love the view.

The open space is splendid!  Such beauty!

I get rejuvenated in the open space behind Sun Valley School - the Sleepy Hollow divide!  Great Tam views!

Sun Valley School - we love our community there.

I love walking around the open space behind Gerstle Park, especially when the blackberries are ripe.

Boyd Park: the view on Robert Dollar Drive at the top is spectacular at night.

The trails in Gerstle Park.

The Falkirk grounds are an accessible and peaceful place to eat lunch or rest - a favorite!

Fourth Street is fun!

Like being at street painting in June!

The Rafael Theater - best cinema in the North Bay.

Love St. Paul’s Episcopal Church & the beautiful native garden.

Arrizmendi!

I love walking in my neighborhood and encountering guide dogs for the blind being trained for their important jobs.

Harbor Rotary - Tuesday mornings at 8:00 am at Whstlestop - connects me to my community.

I love getting coffee and looking at all the Tibetan stores on 4th Street.

I love seeing an artsy foreign film at the Rafael Theatre.

I enjoy spending time in Sol Food because it is delicious and it warms my heart and my belly.

We love Arizmendi.

Laurel Dell School - small but welcoming.  My school.

Sand volley ball courts.

Working with the youth and community in Alberto Barros Community Center.

Spend time with friends.

Taking students on bike rides with Trips For Kids is just so exciting.

I love the quiet interrupted by songs of frogs & yips of coyotes so close to town.

Love the parks and water views on the way to China Camp.

I love biking around China Camp and collecting pottery from the beaches.

Picnic at China Camp.

I love the path along the bay at Target & Las Galinas - wish they were connected.

I love walking along this path - beautiful views and flowers along the path.

I love running in the hills and open spaces.

I love the Civic Center Fairgrounds because I can safely hike, see the birds, baby ducks,  & squirrels.  Also I can go to the Farmers’ Market and theater.

The library - love to explore and discover new books.

YELLOW TAGS (challenges in San Rafael):

Traffic and Sun Valley drop off :(

Boyd Park could be a real gem.

B Street between Albert Park & 3rd Street.

Less Cars.

The movie theater membership program could be less expensive and more user friendly.

I would love to see 4th Street closed to cars 24/7.  Make it a pedestrian mall.

Visually ugly - this is a daily challenge to face.

Traffic nightmare.

I like the world but it’s hard to find a good place to enjoy it. (age 6)




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"Imagine San Rafael" Opens this Friday at Youth in Arts

12/10/2014

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Featuring interactive projects for people of all ages, designed to foster a creative imagining of the city of San Rafael. December 12th, 2014 through January 9th, 2015.

Youth In Arts Gallery, 917 “C” Street, San Rafael, CA 94901

Opening reception December 12th during the 2nd Friday Art Walk, 5-8pm

Closing celebration January 9th, 2015, 5-8pm

Please join the Fortnight Collective for a participatory art exhibit titled Imagine San Rafael, at the Youth In Arts Gallery. Fortnight has spent the last several years developing creative ideas for public space through ongoing community dialogue and public art events.  Some of those ideas are featured in this show, including: an interactive city map where participants can locate their experiences in a shared space; a junk-modeling table where children of all ages can build their own San Rafael; a library of creative placemaking ideas; and a chance for visitors to play with prototypes for local public art. Through this playful kind of collective imagining, we hope to foster creative community dialogue in San Rafael.

Fortnight Collective is proud to be working on this exhibition in partnership with Creative San Rafael, a collaboration of local arts and business organizations dedicated to enriching and enlivening the area as an arts destination.  Lead partners also include Youth in Arts, the City of San Rafael, the Business Improvement District, and Art Works Downtown. Funding for Creative San Rafael has been generously provided by the California Arts Council, the Marin Community Foundation, and the City of San Rafael. More information can be found at http://www.creativesanrafael.org.


Visitors are invited to attend the opening reception on Friday, December 12 from 5-8pm, or visit during gallery hours, Monday through Friday 10am – 5pm. Attendance is free of charge.

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"Home Sweet Home" opens at the Underground Gallery

1/10/2014

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Home Sweet Home is our ode to all the unnamed, invisible women who help us create our homes - mothers, grandmothers, aunts and daughters who honor carry on tradition through everyday labor practices and handiwork.  One of our mothers crocheted the namesake piece, Home Sweet Home, which led us to consider the material evidence of our mothers’ work and love.  Our textile collections of ancestral treasures are displayed in a setting in which they were not intended to be used. Their shadow play and delicate, rhythmic beauty are worthy of contemplation.
 
In May of 2013, we created The Mothering Tree in Downtown San Rafael to honor our maternal ancestors. We invited passersby to write or draw on a tag that was added to the tree. The thousands of multicolored “leaves” were created in the 10 days around Mother’s Day have now taken a new form.  We invite you sit in the hut and revisit what home means to you.  Have a seat, relax, read a question aloud and record a thread from your conversation on the adjacent wall.
 
We are grateful to Art Works Downtown for the unexpected opportunity to use this space – this show was created in five days and is a labor of love.

The show runs from Jan 10th - Feb 11th.  Opening is Friday, January 10th from 5-8pm.  Hope to see you there!

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Work session for upcoming show at Art Works Downtown

1/7/2014

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Fortnight is back in the studio with our many helpers sewing the multitude of colorful "leaves" from our Mothering Tree Project. What will they become? 

Find out at our show at Underground Gallery at Art Works Downtown. Opens this Friday, Jan 10th, 5-8PM as part of the Second Friday Art Walk in San Rafael. 

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Article about Dominican University Photo Project

12/26/2013

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http://www.marinij.com/sanrafael/ci_22868556/dominican-university-photo-project-aims-raise-awareness-about

"The photos of Simon and all the other participants will ultimately take shape as a 10-foot-tall, 80-foot-wide piece of art comprised of 3-by-5-foot posters of each person. The project will remain on the undercrossing for six weeks after the April installation.

Sondag said she hopes the project will generate discussion in the community about the need to provide quality education to everyone. She said the project's site at Bellam Boulevard is symbolic.

"Where it's located, it divides the Canal from other parts of Marin," Sondag said."


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Art Break Day recap

12/2/2013

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Fortnight was proud to host the 3rd annual ArtBreak day this year in downtown San Rafael.  We had over 60 people stop by and make art with us.  Some stayed for only a few minutes while others stayed for hours, literally.  There were two young men, James and Tony, who turned their ArtBreak into an all-day affair.  They had never met but by the end of the day they had developed a bond through their mutual devotion to creating art.

James sat down around 10AM and began working on a drawing of a starfish with oil pastels.  He diligently added all the detailed patterning.  Strangers who sat down at the table where he was working were entranced by his focused and joyful energy.  If they asked him what he was working on, he would hold up his piece and and with a beaming grin.  I was volunteering under the ArtBreak tents for 5 hours and during that time James completed at least six drawings - we were so happy he found us!

Another young man named Tony also spent most of the day with us making art.  He was fastidious and passionate about his work.  He even went back home to brought a set of his favorite markers to share with others.  He began inviting strangers to join him at the table and his enthusiasm was contagious.  James and Tony had totally different artistic styles but there was mutual respect and recognition between them that developed over the course of the day.  They both simply loved to sit and draw and their presence brought a calm to the event which was the tenor of the day.

In addition to the free art making, Fortnight Collective was asking citizens of San Rafael to participate in a project called "Love/Loathe/Long For"  Three giant lists covered one of the tables and people were asked to reflect on how they felt about San Rafael.  What did they love about our city?  What did they loathe?  Long for?  The lists were hung up on a line as a colorful backdrop to ArtBreak Day and later sewn into a large accordion book which is currently being exhibited at on Fourth Street.

The project served as a launching pad for many important conversations that took place over the course of the day about our city and the role that the arts play in it.  Many people commented, "I wish there were opportunities for public dialogue like this," and one woman asked, "How much funding would you need to offer an ArtBreak every week?"  This was valuable feedback for Fortnight as we aim to facilitate civic dialogue through the arts and there is clearly in need in our community.  The book project is ongoing and we hope it will generate more conversations and opportunities to re-imagine San Rafael.  Stay tuned!

Many thanks to the good folks at Art Is Moving Now for the art supplies and support to make this day happen.
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Fourth Street Sighting

6/9/2013

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Paste up on Fourth Street...

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Nice Press about the Mothering Tree

5/4/2013

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Great press from the Marin IJ!http://www.marinij.com/sanrafael/ci_23173192/honoring-our-maternal-ancestors-at-san-rafaels-mothering

"The Mothering Tree, a seven-foot-tall clutch of reclaimed branches painted gold, was installed in downtown San Rafael on Saturday for people to write notes to their mothers on colorful rice paper "leaves" and tie them to the limbs."

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Imagining a different public space

10/14/2012

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At the intersection of Irwin St. and Francisco Blvd W., the old train tracks remain visible through the pavement. This image is from 2010, when the many shades of gray paint covering graffiti on the 101 freeway wall started to create its own abstract landscape painting. The wall has since been painted over in a flat “cement color” covering everything behind. (Mostly.) Wouldn’t this wall be a great place for something different?


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