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CRP Launches Alice Street Mural Project Fundraising Campaign

We are proud to announce the launch of the Alice Street Mural Project! Click HERE to Donate! BACKGROUND The Community Rejuvenation Project (CRP) has dedicated itself to cultivating healthy communities through beautification, education & celebration, using public art as a foundation for holistic, positive community engagement. Partnering with local government, community-based organizations, business owners and business organizations, since 2010, CRP has created more than 100 murals painted in Oakland, Richmond, and Hayward. These include projects commissioned by the City of…

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The Case for Public Murals as an Alternative to an Ineffective Abatement Model

In a recent Oakland Tribune article —provocatively titled “Extortion or Art”– reporter Matthew Artz put forth that “the city is enjoying a golden age of murals and street art. But it also is grappling with a graffiti epidemic like none it has ever seen.” Artz documented some of the failures of the Oakland City Council’s recently adopted anti-graffiti ordinance, noting that no fines have been levied against illegal vandals to date, while property owners in tagging hotspots in West and…

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CRP Announces New “Abundant Knowledge” Mural for Marcus Books and Community Painting Day

For Immediate Release – 3/22/2013 (Oakland, CA) The Community Rejuvenation Project, an Oakland-based collective of mural artists dedicating to the beautification and upliftment of urban communities, announced today a Community Painting Day, to be held 12pm-4pm at Marcus Bookstore, 3900 MLK Way, Oakland, CA, on March 30, 2013. Community residents are invited to help paint book titles on the wall adjacent to the bookstore, which CRP has previously decorated with vibrant portraits of Malcolm X, Marcus Garvey, and Marcus Books…

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It’s Time to Rethink Graffiti Abatement Strategies

The answer to the graffiti problem isn’t throwing money down the abatement black hole or instituting stricter zero-tolerance policies. Any viable solution must revolve around the creation of sound, forward-thinking policy which avoids knee-jerk reactionism and repeating mistakes which have been made in the past. San Jose’s example shows that permanent reductions in graffiti vandalism through zero tolerance measures aren’t sustainable, and that with current abatement strategies, sometimes you get less than you pay for.

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The Zero Graffiti International Conference: At Odds with Long Term Solutions?

The First Annual Zero Graffiti International Conference was held in San Francisco last week. Hundreds of police officers, public works officials, “graffiti” consultants, and industry reps from 52 cities gathered as the industry that has grown up around abatement announced that it had made $17 billion in profit in the United State alone.  Despite the massive expenditure, no study has been undertaken to measure the effectiveness of simple abatement on vandalism recidivism. San Francisco alone spends $20 – 30 million…

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Oakland Community Art Coalition Scores Major Victory Against “Comprehensive Anti-Graffiti Ordinance”

What’s in a name? For the Oakland Community Art Coalition, everything.  After issuing recommendations to Councilpersons Nancy Nadel and Libby Schaaf and speaking before the Public Works Committee on two occasions, advocating in favor of modifications to a proposed “Comprehensive Anti-Graffiti Ordinance,” the committee recommended adoption of several of the Coalition’s suggestions following a December 12 hearing. The recommendations included removing the word “graffiti” from the ordinance – a major point of contention for the Coalition, who argued that the…

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CRP Statement on Oakland’s Proposed Anti-Graffiti Ordinance

On November 2—just four days before the election—City Attorney Barbara Parker and Councilmember Nancy Nadel released a proposed amendment to Oakland’s municipal code which targeted graffiti vandals. Under the proposed ordinance— whose impetus reportedly came as a result of “Occupy”-style protests—graffiti would be classified a “public nuisance” and offenders charged with misdemeanors, rather than citations. The ordinance also calls for increased penalties—including fines as high as $750 per infraction—makes parents liable for damages caused by underage offenders, requires business and…

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Mural Spawns Community Garden in Avondale

This is EXACTLY what the Community Rejuvenation Project dreams about when we envision the impact that we want to have in the community. This is why we have partnered with so many amazing food justice organizations such as People’s Grocery, Ashland Cherryland Garden and Arts Network, Phat Beets, and Urban Tilth. We have the straightforward belief that if you paint art and plant food, good things will happen. We were so honored and excited to paint in numerous gardens and…

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