Arts for Action is dealing with the City of Oxnard's unjust Graffiti Abatement Policy, which cites youth for graffiti vandalism with a civil charge at a rate of $1,000.00 per citation. This issue is compounded with the fact that youth can be cited 65 different times for monikers/tags that are associated as theirs. This policy can thus cost out fees equalling $65,000.00 dollars. Our community needs to have these fees reduced so that a violator is able to pay the fine without causing risk to future financial status and not cause undue burden on the parents of the minor.
vital stats:
people impacted:
400
people involved:
90
why it's important:
In holding our community meetings, we have heard, “we just want the kids who did it to clean it up”, so it is our opinion that organizing to have the addition community service as a form of sweat equity is also needed in the Abatement Ordinance.
the plan of action:
Paint Not Prison is a community organizing and beautification project which engages local youth, mentors and artists including some youth on probation for graffiti offenses. The culmination of the project is a mural production or public art piece, in which community input drives the imagery and message of the mural. Policy change on local Graffiti abatement is a critical component in this program. Youth and allies advocate and organize to improve art programming for the low-income community, and an economically just policy for fines for graffiti offenses which can include sweat equity options for people punished. Participants are trained in art history and theory emphasizing community involved mural creation, popular education on consequences of graffiti offenses and decision making.
Outcomes for our programming include outreach to the entire South Oxnard community by door-knocking for mobilizations to community meetings, five meetings with public officials to discuss policy issues, completion of community service hours for youth on probation and execution of a community mural.
how you can get involved:
n/a
project updates:
Final Grant Update
02/01/2011
Frankie Guzman
650
5,000
This was a great opportunity to be involved with DoSomething. A4A is honored to get a grant from the Bic for Good Grant especially because it has allowed youth to write their own grant proposals and fund raise.
One major highlight of the project was getting the city of Oxnard to begin to embrace arts as an alternative to crime, and graffiti in the city. An Oxnard Police Department Beat Officer said on September 15th, 2010 that “Tagging in the area has completely stopped lately.” This was a major highlight because there was a high rate of tagging in the area before our mural and A4A was able to slow down the vandalism through the arts.
The city has now began to refer youth for community service to the arts programs including the Arts for Action program.
Other Highlights include completion of “Creating a Canvas of Social Change” Mural hung inside the Ventura County Juvenile Probation Services done by Paint not Prison Mentors Jose Zuniga, Andrea Vargas, Victor Aguilar, Tomas Hernandez, and Rolando Camarena and Ventura County Community Foundation Social Justice Fund Donors. In this collaborative project Arts for Action was able to work and team up with local foundations who support youth and the community. This program was very inspiring because it has created a mural that is hung in the Ventura County probation office that is offering youth an alternative perspective and lifestyle than that of crime, and imprisonment.
Arts for Action was the winner of the Earth Charter Award for our Paint not Prison project. This award is sanctioned by the United Nations, and was presented to A4A from the organization Citizens for a Peaceful Resolution. Arts for Action was honored for excellence in the arts as it relates to peace and social justice in both the local and global community.
Arts for Action's Paint not Prison program has had a powerful effect on the local community by providing mural and fine arts programming to youth. The Mural designed by youth, community members and artists has come from 6 months of dedicated education, mentoring, and work. For the first four months of the Paint not Prison program youth researched and studied various parts of art history and theory. In the fourth month youth approached the community and held a meeting at the South Oxnard Center regarding “How they have seen Oxnard change over the years.” A major topic was that of industry, and transportation. The theme of the train was brought up, from the ports near Oxnard, to the Military presence, to the Sugar beat factories, to the migration of diverse peoples to our city, the train has been a central mode of transportation and development of industry and was selected as the central theme of mural iconography. Through this project A4A was able to educate the community on the history of the city.
In designing the rendering of the mural youth and mentors discussed various parts of arts history and theory including realism, surrealism, three-point perspective, and color theory. Youth were educated on various aspects of art history and theory. The theory and legacy of the French Trompe L'Oeil became a major interest in the design which means trick of the eye, and has been used by notable artists such as John Pugh. The 3D effects, Google Earth Layout, Color, and apparent cracks in the wall are all part of this Trompe L'Oeill.
There was One-Hundred and Sixty-Two (162) completed hours of community service for youth on probation. There was also Community Service Hours completed for youth not on Probation: three hundred and twenty (320) hours overall, including eighty (80) hours for youth on academic probation. In the end there was Four-Hundred (482) total hours of community service for all youth.
