WATSONVILLE—Pajaro Valley Arts (PVA) is looking for artists and muralists to be featured in Moveable Murals, a project done in collaboration with the City of Watsonville and the Parks & Recreation Commission.
The project, now in its third year, provides a venue for artists and community members to showcase large-scale paintings and digital work in a public setting. A series of murals by three artists have hung on the side of the Watsonville City Hall Building at 250 Main St. for the past year.
This year, panels will once again be displayed at City Hall. The theme of this year’s exhibit is “An Act of Love—Wearing Masks During the Pandemic.”
Judy Stabile of PVA said that the organization hopes the theme will encourage people to embrace wearing masks in creative ways.
“We want people to see the whimsical side of wearing masks,” she said. “I know it’s not always fun… but you can still play around with it.”
Artists are asked to create works reflecting the theme. Murals will be 4-by-8 (vertical orientation). Selected artists and groups will be provided sheets of prime marine plywood or MDO.
Participants are asked to fabricate the murals in home studios or other locations; they will not be completed on-site. The murals will be displayed for 6-12 months starting in November.
In addition to the murals, this year’s exhibit will also include a public photo collage project. Community members can submit up to three photos of themselves, their friends and family (including pets) wearing protective masks to PVA, which will design a photo collage from selected images, then print and apply them to mural panels.
The images will also be included in PVA’s online gallery and other promotional materials. The organization asks for photo submissions to be high-resolution color images and family-friendly. Submissions must also include the required entry release forms, which can be found here.
PVA is also currently preparing to launch its annual members’ exhibit: “People, Places & Poetry.” An online gallery for the exhibit will launch in the next week. Stabile said they are also planning to do a virtual tour of the exhibit at some point.
“We’re still working on the virtual part of it,” she said. “It’s been a challenge.”
The organization also hopes to physically open its “Campesinos: Workers of the Land” exhibit, which has been installed at the PVA gallery since March, if galleries are given the green light to open.
