It's hard to believe it's been five years since the August 2014 Napa Earthquake. And as many of you know, we had hoped to complete the Quake Mosaic by this month, but we have experienced a few recent curves in the road.
First, the good news: The Army Corps of Engineers finished the Napa River flood control project in downtown Napa (more info here in the SF Chronicle article) and we have already seen the benefits of this work over the last couple rainy winters.
The bad news: In this achievement, the flood plain boundaries were moved and now include the originally selected Quake Mosaic installation site on Soscol Avenue, just south of Vallejo Avenue at the ‘Southern Gateway’ of the RAD. Building on this site now triggers the need for a 30k engineering study that ultimately may not allow us to build there even with significant changes to the site.
The result: We must relocate the Quake Mosaic installation site.
WHAT’S NEXT
We have been looking at several potential sites with RAD ED and public art consultant, Shelly Willis as well as Katrina Gregory, Parks and Rec Manager, who is now overseeing the City’s Public Art program.
The criteria we are looking for in a new site include:
an open, safe, easily publically accessible area large enough to accommodate the rail car
in or near a park area to allow for the planned surrounding landscaping + reflection area
in or near downtown Napa, specifically in the RAD
in a City-owned parcel to assure long term maintenance and public accessibility
The search is ongoing but the project just received a generous Community Fund Grant from Arts Council Napa Valley that will allow me to prioritize this next phase.
Onward!
MEANING FROM DESTRUCTION
I would feel remiss if I did not mention something about the devastating recent mass shooting news. It seems that every day we have another reason to remember how important it is to make meaning from destruction. While we continue to build the Quake Mosaic, I hope we can reach out to our communities with generous empathy as we heal from and hopefully prevent more man-made violence.
