The Lumberjack



Students Serving The Cal Poly Humboldt Campus and Community Since 1929

Tag: eureka street art festival

  • The Eureka Street Art Festival

    The Eureka Street Art Festival

    by Maranda Vargas

    If you have driven through Eureka, you have probably seen at least one spectacular mural along your travels. The beyond life size artwork peeks out from historic buildings all the way to bridge pilings, overpasses, park benches and sidewalks. The Eureka Street Art Festival is a week-long event where local and international artists transform public spaces into an immersive art experience for the community. 

    The quaint coastal town of Eureka boasts a historic district known as Old Town that’s nestled by Humboldt Bay. Old Town is filled with Victorian era architecture and a variety of art galleries, unique shops, bookstores and a myriad of locally crafted fare. Art installations and murals have become part of the Old Town ambience since its designation as a California Cultural Arts District.

     In 2017, The Black Faun Gallery commissioned two large murals to be created in Old Town. The buzz and interest in the new murals had created an opportunity for further art tourism to the area. Seeing an interest from the community, Michelle Cartledge, Swan Asbury and Jenna Catsos created the Eureka Street Art Festival the very next year. 

    “We saw a desire for murals in the area and we realized that this could really benefit the community,” said Catsos. “We work to make sure that everyone who passes through Eureka can see themselves in the artwork that we present in the city.”

    The festival just completed its sixth year and has added at least 100 new murals to Eureka since its induction. Catsos says one of her passions is to help develop the next generation of mural artists locally, as well as artists of other media transferring their skills into becoming a mural artist. The festival website has information on how to apply to be an artist as well as an apprenticeship program. 

    Photo by Maranda Vargas. ‘Tortured Beauty’ by Artist Tony Diaz for the 2021 Eureka Street Art Festival.

    Local artist Tony Diaz of Ripe Mind Productions has created several murals for the festival. Diaz graduated from Humboldt State University with a degree in the Arts,  with printmaking and graphic design being his focus at that time. It wasn’t until later that he would transform his printmaking skills into a new passion of painting murals. Diaz created his first mural for the 2019 Eureka Street Art Festival. After the first mural, his interest snowballed into a career. 

    The vibrant mural titled ‘Cruising for a groovin’ featured in this year’s festival was one of Diaz’ creations. Diaz invited his fiancé and younger sister to be on his painting crew for the event. The larger than life mural took the crew a week of ten-hour days to complete. Diaz as a college student was uncertain if he was going to be successful having a career as an artist. 

    Photo by Maranda Vargas. ‘Cruising for a Groovin”painted by Artist Tony Diaz for the Eureka Street Art Festival.

    “It’s all about putting yourself out there and just really not giving up,” Diaz said. “If you really want to do it, you’re gonna find that you can make as much money if you just take the leap, and sometimes it’s great to take the leap.” 

    The Eureka Street Art Festival commissions both local and international artists to create murals throughout Eureka. The mission of the project is to create accessible art while enlivening public spaces, revitalizing the community and attracting art tourism to Eureka.

    The murals from this year’s festival have all been completed and are ready for your viewing pleasure. You can find pictures of past murals along with a map of all murals and the names of the artists on the Eureka Street Art Festival website.

  • Paint the Town

    Paint the Town

    An early reflection of the second annual Eureka Street Art Festival

    Artists from around the world swarmed Eureka with colorful supplies on hand ready to paint vibrant and diverse murals.

    The Second Annual Eureka Street Art Festival kicked off July 27 and ended August 3. Artists were sponsored by local businesses and the Headwaters Reserve Fund. Last year, organizers brought several artists to paint murals on many of Eureka’s downtown buildings with the intent to beautify the area.

    • Eureka local and artist Lucas Thornton specs out his mural on the side of the Redwood Art Association Gallery. | Photo by Deija Zavala
    • Shipping container design by Bay Area artist Benjamin Goulart (the Mural-Man) across from Humboldt Bay Fire in Eureka. | Photo by Deija Zavala
    • Sponsored by the Eureka Chamber of Commerce, Miami-based artist Eric Karbeling’s mural sits in the parking lot on the corner of 6th and G in Eureka. | Photo by Deija Zavala
    • Mural sponsored by the Local Cider Bar on the Picky Picky Picky Store 6th Street wall. | Photo by Deija Zavala
    • Mural by Seattle-based artist Genevieve St. Charles-Monet (@goldsuit) at 6th and E Neighborhood Eatery. | Photo by Deija Zavala
    • Southern California artists Dave Van Patten and James Carey collaborated on this piece at 6th and F Streets in Eureka. | Photo by Deija Zavala
    • Humboldt resident Sonny Wong’s mural sits on the corner of 6th and G Streets in Eureka. | Photo by Deija Zavala
    • Mural for Humboldt Bay Fire by Miami-based artist Eric Karbeling. | Photo by Deija Zavala
    • Argentinian artist Mabel Vicentef’s mural in the parking lot of Picky Picky Picky Store. The mural was originally planned for the second-level 6th Street wall of the Eureka Theatre. | Photo by Deija Zavala

    The murals painted were put up to benefit the community. It’s been less than a month since the street festival and the official unveiling of these pieces, but an early reflection was in order to highlight the impact of the pieces.

    “I think it’s great and it’s not costing the taxpayers anything,” said Margaret Gibson, a Eureka local when asked about her thoughts on the benefit of having these murals.

    Nathan Mathers, who has resided in different parts of Humboldt County for the last 20 years, wishes that the funds that pay the artists for these projects would be used in helping other parts of the community.

    “There’s no reason these businesses can’t donate to help the homeless or fix the roads instead of paying people to paint the buildings,” Mathers said.

    While the majority of the projects have focused on areas closer to Eureka Old Town, Humboldt natives like Jessica Warren hopes that in years to come they’ll see murals throughout the entirety of Eureka.

    “Why stop at Old Town? If we want these murals to benefit the community they need to be seen everywhere,” Warren said.

    Another local by the name of Sheri Jacobs said that she believes these murals will have several positive effects on the community.

    “Some people might drive through Eureka and think it’s rundown, but how can they say that with all these vibrant murals hanging around,” Jacobs said. “It might make people want to stop and do their business here but if not, at least we all have something pretty to look at.”