Staff Report
City Council
Item No. 4.F
Meeting Date: August 26, 2026
From: Anne V. Ambrose, Assistant City Manager
Title: Accept Public Arts Commission's Recommendation and Award Contract to Autumn Martino for the Esperanza Park Mural
RECOMMENDATION:
To accept the Public Arts Commission's recommendation, award a contract in the amount of $50,000 to Autumn Martino for her mural concept “Rooted in Hope” for Esperanza Park, and authorize the City Manager to execute the contract.
BACKGROUND:
In October 2025, the City was awarded a $98,167 Art in California Parks implementation grant, a program from the California State Parks in partnership with Parks California and the California Arts Council. The grant aims to:
reflect and better connect the public with the cultural heritage of the region; increase investments in arts and cultural experiences in often overlooked communities;
drive authentic community engagement and thoughtful art program design; support a diverse set of art mediums to enhance parks experiences for all visitors; and
connect communities through shared art and cultural experiences in the Arts in California Parks Programs.
The City proposal, titled The Hope Rising: Esperanza Park Cultural Celebration, included funding for four activation events at Esperanza Park centered around the themes of Echoes of the Past, Voices of the Present, Visions of the Future, and Together We Heal.
In addition to the park events, $50,000 of the grant is earmarked for the creation of a mural on the back of the restroom building, facing the CVLINK trail and rear entrance to the park.
A call for artists application was created using feedback received from the Dream Homes residents about what types of images and themes were meaningful to them. The application period opened on May 14, 2026, and closed June 30, 2026, with applications being accepted through the Cafe Call for Entry online system https://www.callforentry.org/. Staff reviewed the applications for completeness and forwarded the proposals to the Public Arts Commission (PAC) Commissioners to individually review and rank the applicants. At the July 14, 2026, PAC meeting, the commissioners reviewed the applicants and selected three finalists to present to the community for input on which proposal is preferred. Community input was open from July 15, 2026, through August 3, 2026. An online survey, in English and Spanish, was made available through the city’s social media outlets and in the Discover Cathedral City online newsletter. PACE Commissioner Jimenez, a resident of the Dream Homes neighborhood, also took copies of the voting sheet (also in English and Spanish) door to door to solicit direct feedback from the residents of the neighborhood.
An essential component of the grant is to have the community participate in the painting. A painting day will be scheduled to begin on September 12, 2026, to coincide with the next park events. The unveiling of the mural is scheduled for the final event on October 10, 2026.
DISCUSSION:
The Public Arts Commission met on August 11, 2026, to review the public input. Staff received 407 responses from the community in total, with 371 responses to the online survey and 36 responses from the door-to-door outreach in the Dream Homes community. Below is a summary of the responses. “Rooted in Hope” by Autumn Martino received the highest number of votes from the online survey and directly from the Dream Homes residents.
The Public Arts Commission reviewed the community input and by unanimous vote, selected Autumn Martino’s proposed work “Rooted in Hope” to be awarded the contract. The contract is for $50,000 which includes all artist fees, materials, insurance, etc., required to complete the piece. The mural needs to be completed before the end of October to meet the funding deadline of the grant.
FISCAL IMPACT:
DESCRIPTION GENERAL
LEDGER
ACCOUNT
CODES
PROJECT
CODE
AMOUNT ONE TIME or
ONGOING
2026-2027 Esperanza Park Mural (Art
in California Parks Grant)
249-900-910-
911-8200-8201 G02002 $50,000 One Time
Autumn
Martino
Marconi
Calinda-Cafege
Matthew
Cavanaugh
Jesse
Melanson
Online 204 78 55 34
Dream Homes 23 1 6 6
0 50
100
150
200
250
Online Dream Homes
Esperanza Park Mural Votes
2026-2027 Total $50,000
FIVE-YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN:
Goal F – Embracing, Inclusive Community
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Finalist Application List
2. Artist Agreement