In June 2022, downtown Concord became a more colorful place when six murals brought drab buildings to life with bright depictions of wild birds, indigenous culture and futuristic landscapes, each as unique as the artist who created it.
Turns out, it was just the beginning. In 2023, another six murals were added, and in the coming weeks, yet more will emerge — for a total of 18 — in the small-business district around Todos Santos Plaza.
The large, shady plaza is everything a city could want as a community gathering spot, witness the legions of lawn-chair schlepping families and friends at the city’s Thursday night Music & Market summer concert series. But Sage and Tari Loring – arts-event producers behind Creative Local Edition – sensed a missed opportunity.
“We were noticing all kinds of public art around the Bay Area, but not in Concord,” said Tari Loring. Not only is Concord a great, multicultural community, she said, but it’s home to many artists who have to go to Oakland or San Francisco to present their work.
The Lorings, who live on the Concord/Walnut Creek border, approached city officials in 2021 with a pitch to partner on an experience that would be “unlike any existing arts programs in the Bay Area,” Tari Loring said. The result was Creative Concord, a celebration of arts, culture and community that began with murals and now culminates each year in a weekend celebration — the Art and Music Jam, Oct. 5-6 — that invites the public to Todos Santos Plaza to wander between 16 artists working on large-scale canvases to the backdrop of live music. It’s jointly produced by the Creative Local Edition, the City of Concord and Visit Concord.
Now in its third year, the event features local musicians, as well as interactive booths where the public can engage in hands-on activities with artists and arts organizations. Highlights include the installation of a new mosaic in Salvio Pacheco Square, where visitors can hear a pop-up opera performance on Sunday afternoon. Other community organizations on the roster included the nonprofit group Guitars Not Guns and community-favorite, Taiko Diablo. A self-guided tour of the murals can be found at CreativeConcordCA.com.
Local music producer Dave Hughes helped curate the musicians, with an emphasis on local singer-songwriters rather than cover bands. Highlights include Chika Di, Emily Afton and The Seshen.
“(This year) we’re not really trying to build something bigger, we’re much more focused on the depth of things,” Sage Loring explained. For example, he said, the paintings created over the weekend are on 5- by 6-foot canvases, making it easier to watch the painters in progress. In the past the weekend creations had been donated to local organizations and businesses, but this year they will be for sale to the public, with the artists keeping 100 percent of the proceeds.
Also drawing arts-lovers to the event: the prospect of watching the new murals in the making, including one by Juur, a nationally recognized Japanese American artist with more than 30 murals around the United States. She is at work on “Onikenbai Dancers” with plans for it to be finished in time for a dedication ceremony on Oct. 4 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Concord’s sister-city relationship with Kitakami. A delegation from the Japanese city will be in attendance.
Some of the muralists are from the Bay Area, others from around the country, and some, are completely homegrown, including tattoo-artist and painter Brian Arriaga whose mural “California Dreamin’” goes up on East Street.
“As a Concord-born-and raised artist, I think the Creative Concord initiative is a pivotal and much needed program for the city,” said Arriaga, who was also an artist in the 2022 Art and Music Jam. “It creates valuable opportunities for artists of all ages and skill levels, all the while beautifying and inspiring the entire community.”
Lisa Roeber, Concord’s downtown program manager, says Creative Concord is just the kind of program the city has long needed.
“Art has a history of being a great revitalization tool,” she said, noting that the timing for it – as the world was coming out of Covid and people were looking for outdoor places to gather – was a catalyst. The city seeded the project with funds it received through the federal American Rescue Plan. Now that the program is up and running, it’s creating sponsorship opportunities for downtown merchants.
The idea, says Sage Loring, is to create a hyper-local economic boost. “We’re really focusing on small business; large businesses don’t need help. Besides, what makes any place interesting are the small businesses.”
CREATIVE CONCORD
When: 12-5 p.m. Oct. 5-6
Where: Todos Santos Plaza, Concord
Admission: Free
Details: Find full lineup of artists, musicians and murals, including murals in progress, at CreativeConcordCA.com.