July 7th, 2022, San Pedro, CA – The San Pedro Waterfront Arts District is delighted to announce the completion of 5 more artist painted storm drains. The artists were chosen via a public Call for Art in a juried selection process, including over 20 entries from qualified local artists. This project has been gratefully funded by a Port of Los Angeles Community Grant and a grant from the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs. Along with the painted storm drains, we replaced a DOT Box at 6th and Mesa, funded by a grant from the Central San Pedro Neighborhood Council Neighborhood Purposes Grant, painted by Adrienne Wade (https://www.adriennewade.com/) Photos available upon request.
This brings the total number of painted storm drains to 7, along with 25 artist painted DOT Boxes and 3 large scale murals. The artists and locations are as follows:
- Outi Harma (https://outiart.com/) – 5th and Mesa, in front of Wellington Signs
- Mer Young (https://www.meryoung.com/) – 6th and Mesa, by the parking lot
- Jay Davis (SPHS Art Teacher) – 6th and Mesa, in front of Sunken City Books
- Cherry Wood (www.cherrywoodstudio.com) – 6th and Harbor, near the other 2 storm drains
- Jen Swain (http://swainsdesigns.com/) – 6th and Harbor, in front of the Maritime Museum
About the San Pedro Waterfront Arts District: (http://sanpedrowaterfrontartsdistrict.com/):The mission of the San Pedro Waterfront Arts District is to support, advocate, and promote San Pedro arts and artists in all genres. We celebrate diversity and inspire appreciation of cultural and artistic expression.
San Pedro is home to over 90 visual artists, as well as 3 performing arts venues, art galleries and restaurants. The Arts District is anchored by the Warner Grand Theatre, a 1,500-seat historic art deco movie palace, the Little Fish Theatre, presenting repertory theater in a converted garage, the Grand Annex (a project of the Grand Vision Foundation), and the Loft Studios, a three-story warehouse with a concentration of fine artists. The Arts District’s streets are lined with artists’ live/workspaces and each month they open their doors to the FirstThursday ArtWalk, in operation since 1997. In 2017, San Pedro was designated as one of 14 California Cultural Districts by the Sacramento based California Arts Council.
The San Pedro Waterfront Arts District believes public art is a vital way to make art accessible and commissioned professional artists to paint 25 DOT utility boxes throughout San Pedro, along with two wall murals in the downtown core. In June 2019, the Arts District launched Adventures in Public Art – a six-week mural workshop program, designed to engage participants in public art projects, become more astute arts enthusiasts and to foster a sense of community ownership and inclusion.
Linda L. Grimes | Executive Director | 310 732 0010