Leveraging Art and Design to Support Sustainable Agriculture Planning in Mariposa County
Mariposa County and the Mariposa Arts Council have been awarded an Our Town grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to work with artists to develop creative placemaking projects and artistic interventions that support the County’s Agriculture and Working Lands Conservation Plan (AWLCP).
Phase II: Midpines
In WLWA Phase 2, artists Anna Friedland and Abby Miller, and Alex (LX) Lewis have been selected to create public-facing creative placemaking projects connected to timber and forest land in the Midpines County Park. Now, the Arts Council, Planning Department and selected artists are reviewing constructive feedback from the public to help refine initial art project concepts before finalization.
Opportunities to submit feedback were held online Jan. 19 – Feb. 15 and in-person Feb. 1 – 15 at the Mariposa County Library (4978 10th St, Mariposa, CA 95338).
Anna Friedland & Abby Miller | Midpines Park Art Panels
PROJECT STATUS: Installed.
Anna and Abby have co-created folk art style panels on the Midpines County Park bus shelter and Community Hall illustrating themes surrounding Midpines community’s role in land stewardship: protection and growth. The panels feature Bear Creek, local flora and fauna, and trees that symbolize the community’s natural resources, and the panel themes are inscribed in both English and Southern Sierra Miwuk languages. The final product will be three pieces – meticulously hand-painted, digitized, and printed on durable, fire resistant metal panels.
“These pieces, “Gather and Protect” or in Southern Sierra Miwuk “Huṭṭamehnəthoy ho’’ay ‘Okōoyuthoy“ celebrate our local flora and fauna and acknowledge that the way forward for our community involves collaboration, mutual respect, and reverence for all who live here and contribute to the stewardship of this incredible place. Thank you to our community for all your helpful feedback. Thank you Southern Sierra Miwuk Nation for your feedback, recommendations, information, and language support. Thank you Mariposa Arts Council and Mariposa County for this opportunity.”
– From Anna and Abby
About the Artists
Anna Friedland is an artist, graphic designer, brand consultant, and illustrator living in Mariposa. She grew up in an artistic household and began drawing and painting from a very young age. She received her formal training at San Francisco State University, getting a B.A. in Art with an emphasis in painting.
Abby Miller currently serves the Mariposa Library, which she regards as the best canvas and a heartbeat of this rural community – a place for gathering, learning and dreaming. Abby is an accomplished artist, art therapist, and passionate amateur naturalist with an M.A in Art Therapy from Marywood University and B.A in Studio Arts from Rosemont College.
Lx Lewis | Manzanita Sculpture
PROJECT STATUS: Installed
Lx will carve a Manzanita wood sculpture titled “Dreaming of Water” depicting a Miwuk woman whose ancestors have been stewards of the land in Mariposa County for time immemorial. The statue will consist of manzanita wood and iron, with a cement base to stand the art piece on level ground. The sculpture will have a water fountain-like capacity that allows rainwater to be collected from the woman’s headdress and flow into her open, cupped palms below.
The sculpture will incorporate a range of natural materials used by the Indigenous people of the region in their homes, cooking baskets, tools, and other supplies. “Dreaming of Water” tells a story of balancing our energy and resources, which are essential for all living beings, including the trees of the forests.
About the Artist
Alexander J. Lewis (LX) is a Cheyenne River Sioux/Diné contemporary artist. He is an enrolled tribal member with the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe in South Dakota. LX’s primary medium is carving a hardwood called Manzanita, but also carves cedar, pine, oak, and black walnut.
In his artwork he depicts his Indigenous culture to communicate stories to the art viewers. In 2021, LX accomplished his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at the Institute of American Indian Arts, Santa Fe New Mexico. In 2019, LX was awarded the Southwestern American Indian Association (SWAIA) fellowship in which he worked with his son on a jewelry art project.
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Project Timeline
| 2023-2024 | Project Details |
|---|---|
| November 9-26 | Artist submit LOI via portal on Arts Council website by 5pm on November 24, 2023. |
| November 27 – December 1 | Mariposa County Planning and Arts Council staff review LOIs |
| December 4 – 15 | Arts Council invites artists who submitted viable LOIs to submit full proposals. Full proposals will include stakeholder engagement plan and all documentation and project details that may be necessary for County approval processes. The Arts Council will work with all artists submitting full proposals to develop these materials. |
| December 18 | Full proposals due |
| January 2-5 | Panel adjudicates full proposals and announces successful project |
| January 15-February 15 | Online stakeholder engagement, Public Works Parks Commission and Creative Placemaking Strategy Advisory Committee, Midpines Planning Advisory Committee review and approval |
| February 20 | Approval by the Mariposa County Board of Supervisors |
| February 21 – May 3 | Projects creation/fabrication and installation |
| May 13-18 | Presentation of project to the public |
Eligibility and Process
Process
The Arts Council and the Planning Department invited regional social practice artists to submit letters of intent for the development of 1-2 public-facing creative placemaking projects. Letters of intent were collected through November 26 and applicants adjudicated and selected by a formal review panel in December, 2024.
Who Can Apply
California based artists working the fields of visual, media, traditional, music, theatre, literature, and interdisciplinary arts, 18 years or older.
Eligible Request Amounts
Artists may request between $5,000 – $25,000 for a project. Artists may submit one LOI.
Phase I: Coulterville
In WLWA Phase I, artists Jackie Baxton and Erica Wolfsen have been selected to create public-facing creative placemaking projects that interpret and respond to community input collected during the Mariposa County Agricultural and Working Lands Conservation Plan. Both projects are focused on agricultural narratives in Coulterville with completion estimated for Spring/Summer 2024.
Erica Wolfsen | Mural series in Coulterville Park
PROJECT STATUS: Installed
Erica has created two murals within existing spaces in the Coulterville Park that focus on key narratives surrounding pastureland, flood and fire. These murals are intended to contribute to the park’s aesthetic qualities and provide functional resurfacing to various structures on park grounds.
This project was reviewed and finalized with help from the community during an in-person event at Banderita Days in Coulterville and an online survey. Details about this project can be found within in the artist’s proposal.
About the Artist
Erica Wolfsen is a working, professional painter who moved to Coulterville to be closer to family. Erica has served as Art Director at The Huntington Beach Hebrew Academy for 10 years and has taught art to all ages in San Diego, Orange, LA, Tuolomne, and Mariposa counties. Originally from San Diego, she graduated with honors from both the Coronado School of the Arts and the University of California San Diego.
Jackie Baxton | Horse Bit Sculpture in Coulterville
PROJECT STATUS: Approved and Installation in Progress
Jackie will create a large-scale sculptural horse bit that serves as a tribute to Coulterville’s rich equestrian and cattle ranching history, and pays homage to the profound influence horses have played in development and transformation of Western and Indigenous landscapes and cultural narratives in California. The sculpture will be crafted with elements from local and historical material.
Jackie invited the community to give feedback in person during CoyoteFest in Coulterville and online Oct. 11-30, 2023.
About the Artist
Jackie Baxton is a metalsmith, sculptor and taxidermist who owns, lives and works on her ranch in Mariposa County. She creates dimensional artwork, custom pieces and jewelry that speaks towards the experiences, challenges and mythos of native landscapes and agriculture
The Arts Council and the Planning Department are working with regional, social practice artists to develop several creative placemaking projects that interpret, respond to, and engage with agricultural and working landscapes in Mariposa. Selected artists’ proposals are adjudicated and ranked. Artists with high scoring proposals refine their designs with support from the Planning Department, Arts Council, and the public. Each of the proposed projects will have its own public engagement process, including online surveys and in-person events.
This project intentionally responds to these recommendations in the Agricultural and Working Lands Conservation Plan and the Creative Placemaking Strategy.
Questions?
Contact Ava Burns: burns@mariposaartscouncil.org
