Category Archives: Newsletter

IT TAKES A NEIGHBORHOOD!

Maybe Something Beautiful – How Art Transformed a Neighborhood by
F. Isabelle Campoy & Theresa Howell

The Friendship Corner Community Project is bursting with beauty, creativity, and connecting neighbors through the revitalization of a vacant space in need of attention and care. We want to thank the participation of Franklin Middle School and Mann Elementary students and families who recently received mosaic kits! The mosaic daisies the students create will be added to the Friendship Corner mural at the Dawson and 7th Street lot.

ArtWorksLBC Director and mosaic artist, Dawn Mendelson joined Mann Elementary School’s family zoom night on Wednesday, December 2nd to show students and their families about the art of mosaic and tell them about the Friendship Corner Community Project at the Dawson and 7th Street lot. The family zoom night included the story Maybe Something Beautiful – How Art Transformed a Neighborhood by F. Isabelle Campoy & Theresa Howell to show students how a splash of color can brighten the grayest of areas in a neighborhood.

ArtWorksLBC Director, Dawn Mendelson talking with students at Mann Elementary about mosaic art

Mann Elementary Principal Mrs. Fiala commented on the project: “What a wonderful experience to share with our families.  Working together to create our mosaics brought pure joy and laughter during challenging times.  To be part of such a beautiful art installation in our own neighborhood brings the hope of the community to build beauty from the ashes.”

Mann Elementary families, teachers and ArtWorksLBC Director, Dawn Mendelson create mosaic daisies for their Family Zoom Night on 12/2/2020

If you have a completed mosaic kit or want to pick one up, please email info@rpna.org for more information.

ArtWorksLBC Neighborhood Building Award 2020

Do you know a person who has strengthened a Long Beach neighborhood using creativity? Engaged residents to participate in a community building activity using art? Would you like them to be recognized? We would!

Please send your nomination of someone who you believe acted on the mission of ArtWorksLBC to info@rpna.org.

The mission of ArtWorksLBC is to create opportunities for neighbors to connect, build community and foster healthy neighborhoods through arts wellness and collaborative creativity.

Utilizing the nomination statement below, please submit the requested information in a word or pdf file to info@rpna.org by end of day on December 15, 2020. Those who are selected will be notified by December 22, 2020 and asked (if feasible) to participate in a safe distance photo shoot and receive recognition during a Padnet TV show. Please note: Self nominations will be accepted and are encouraged!

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Nomination Statement

First & Last Name of Nominee

Contact Email & Phone Number of Nominee

Please describe in 500 words or less how the nominee identified a need and worked on community building using creativity and/or art in their Long Beach neighborhood. Identify the specific work to which the nomination is based, how it helped the neighborhood and how this embodies the mission of ArtWorksLBC. A ‘work’ might be an art session, collaborative process, or joint effort to build community using art or art expression as a component. The community building project should have started or been completed between Dec. 1, 2018 – Dec. 1, 2020.

Two letters of support – may be written by nominee, partner, affiliated organization or resident.

One or two photos of the work which examples the community building benefit.

Review criteria: The review committee wants to learn how the nominee defined the need, and used an artful or creative process to address it, and how the community responded.  

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­ArtWorksLBC fosters community engagement through the conduit of art, in conjunction with the Rose Park Neighborhood Association’s Healthy Neighborhoods Initiative. ArtWorksLBC is a community benefit project of Rose Park Neighborhood Association.

More information about ArtWorksLBC HERE.