AGENDA REPORT CITY HALL - ONE FRANK H. OGAWA PLAZA, 2ND FLOOR - OAKLAND - CA 94612 DAN KALB (510) 238-7001 Councilmember District 1 [email protected] DATE: July 6, 2023 TO: Members of the City Council and Members of the Public FROM: Councilmember Kalb SUBJECT: RESOLUTION AWARDING A GRANT IN THE AMOUNT OF $11,000 FROM PRESIDENT PRO TEM KALB’S MURAL FUNDS (FUND 85521) TO ARTIST DEBRA KOPPMAN FOR A COMMUNITY MURAL OUTSIDE STUDIO NAGA INDO-AMERICAN MARTIAL ARTS AT 5850 SAN PABLO AVENUE Dear Colleagues and Members of the Public, On July 26, 2021, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 88783 C.M.S., which amended Resolution No. 88717 C.M.S., the adoption of the FY 2021-23 Biennial Budget adjustments, to appropriate additional funding for murals across the City of Oakland, business improvement district support, cameras in commercial corridors, transportation, and capital projects. Pursuant to Resolution No. 88783 C.M.S., each Council District office was allocated $60,000 for public art murals, to be funded by Fund 85521. I am happy to recommend that $11,000 of my dedicated funds be used to support the creation of a mural on the exterior wall of the non-profit martial arts studio, Studio Naga. During the pandemic, with the inability to provide in-person courses, the studio suffered. The studio also regularly has to contend with graffiti and other defacement of their building. By awarding these funds to Studio Naga, we can deter graffiti and provide the community beautiful art celebrating Oakland. Studio Naga has been a pillar of the D1 community and I am pleased to recommend this grant. Attached to this memo is the artist’s full application. For questions regarding this report, please contact Councilmember Dan Kalb at [email protected]. . Respectfully submitted, __________________________ Councilmember Dan Kalb
Schedule A
SCOPE OF WORK, DELIVERABLES & BUDGET
I. PROJECT DESCRIPTION, LOCATION OF ARTWORK & TASKS
This mural project, funded through “Graffit Abatement – Green Walls, District 1,” will be sited on the long exterior façade of the brick building occupied by Studionaga at 5850 San Pablo Ave, at the corner of 59th Street and San Pablo Avenue in North Oakland . The business, a non-profit focused on teaching children, youth, and adults the Indonesian-American martial art form of “Poekoelan Tjimindie Tulen” since 2000, suffered from an inability to conduct in-person training, in the same way similar hands-on training programs suffered. The business is now back to offering classes at this studio, and is handicapped by the presence of un-housed people frequently defacing the building and using the front and side walls for their personal needs. In addition, there have also been frequent serious graffiti assaults on the building, making it unappealing and uninviting for the numerous children and youth who attend classes to learn self-defense, meditation, and leadership skills.
The building is a beautiful old brick building, with original tile in the front entranceway, and open, spacious studio rooms filled with original wood trim and lots of light. The long exterior wall which has been repeatedly defaced, does not reflect the purpose or the values of this locale, and would greatly benefit from the creation of a community mural. This project would offer the possibility of modifying the exterior of the building to cohere with the interior of the building, and with the values of the community. At the same time, the aesthetics of the whole street will be improved, and neighbors and passers-by will be delighted.
Local Oakland Artist Debra Koppman has designed a mural which coheres with the spirit and practices of the studio, but which does not function in any way as advertising. Debra Koppman has extensive experience working with Oakland community members, and has successfully completed multiple murals around the city. She was the collaborating artist on 2 murals which were funded by the previous Green Walls program in District 1, and was the lead artist on multiple Green Walls projects in District 4, and has also completed multiple murals on businesses and non-profits in the Fruitvale and Grand Lake Districts.
Students, teachers, and parents will be invited to participate in the painting of the mural; we will also welcome any community members who would like to participate. This opportunity to participate in the creation of a more welcoming space will hopefully extend out beyond the specific participants of the classes offered at Studionaga.
Tasks:
Wash wall.
Prime wall.
Grid wall.
Paint wall.
Seal wall. Repeat, for a total of 4 coats.
Inaugurate! Celebrate!
The design will be gridded out, making it fairly straightforward to follow. I intend to paint the wall as if it were mosaic tile. As someone who works both with paint and with mosaic tile, I feel that this approach will tie appropriately to the existing aesthetics of Studionaga, which has beautiful old tile on the front façade of the building, and beautiful intricate wood and fabric details on the inside. By painting the design as if it were mosaic tile, I will be able to add a level of detail in a fairly simple way; this level of detail will I hope help to serve as the most effective graffiti deterrent I can implement. Towards this end, I will use primer infused with a medium gray paint as my initial surface, and begin the gridding and drawing from there.
Volunteers will be coordinated with Louise Rafkin, to allow maximum possibility for all those interested to participate; hopefully this will also reduce the total number of artist hours necessary, to make this budget reasonable. Volunteers will help prep and prime the wall, participate in the painting of the mural, and help with the application of the 4 coats of sealer.
We will intend to organize a community celebration to inaugurate the mural, bringing together the Studionaga community with their larger surrounding community.
II. SCHEDULE OF PERFORMANCE & MAINTENANCE
Timeline: This timeline is based on the assumption of receiving PAAC approval, a City Council Resolution, and a contract by June 30, 2023.
April 2023 – June 2023: District 1 Staff executes Resolution to allocate funding for this project to Artist Debra Koppman; brings Resolution to City Council; City Council approves; District 1 Staff executes Grant Agreement, i.e. the contract.
June 5, 2023: Receive approval from PAAC. Artist has submitted, as of 3/30/23, the necessary documents to PAAC, and is on their schedule for the May 1 meeting.
By June 30, 2023: City Council Resolution approved; contract executed and signed by the parties – Artist and the City.
July – August 2023: Paint wall, allowing for scheduling around volunteer availability.
Late August/Early September 2023: Community dedication/celebration.
Maintenance to be performed as needed; Plan re-washing, re-coating with graffiti sealer at 5-year mark.
III. COMPENSATION
Budget:
Income:
City of Oakland, District 1: Graffiti Abatement-Green Walls $ 11,000 Studionaga Fundraising $ 4,300
Total $ 15,300
Expenses:
Artist Time: @ 180 hrs @ $75/hr $ 13,500
Materials:
Primer $ 150
Paint $ 750
Sealer $ 900
$ 1,800
Total $15,300
Schedule A-2
FINAL ARTWORK PROPOSAL
(Include description, maintenance, materials, drawing/rendering of art, etc.)
Description:
The image was designed in collaboration with Louise Rafkin, head of the school. The design includes an image of a dragon in a bamboo forest, connecting the image loosely to Indonesia as the origin of this particular martial arts tradition. Joining the dragon are a monkey, a crane, a tiger, and a snake, the four animals whose movements form the basis of the “Poekoelan Tjimindie Tulen” teachings. The image is both simple enough to have multiple, not-necessarily-experienced volunteers participate, while being complicated and detailed enough to deter further graffiti. Not possible to see in the drawing is the fact that the mural will be painted “as-if” it were mosaic tile. This technique, which I have used before to great effect, creates the illusion of mosaic tile, gives the feeling of a great deal of detail over the entire surface, and is reasonably easy to teach people, allowing for individual differences in application and approach.
Maintenance:
Artist Debra Koppman will work with the director of Studionaga, Louise Rafkin, to assure that the artwork looks terrific for as long as possible. Koppman has created over 35 murals over the last 16 years, and has had minimal maintenance issues. She has only had to fix one serious incidence of graffiti in that time, so we have some hope that the mural itself will deter graffiti.
The mural will be coated with 4 coats of a high-quality anti-graffiti sealer, which helps make it more possible to clean graffiti easily. While it is in her interest to fix graffiti as long as she is alive and able, Koppman is recommending that Studionaga begins to raise funds for the purpose of ongoing and long- term maintenance, to pay her or another contractor in the case of needed repairs.
Louise Rafkin will inform Koppman of any needed fixes; if the fixes are minimal, requiring 3 hours or less each incident, she will take care of them, with the help of Studionaga members, in as timely a manner as possible, with no compensation, for a period of 5 years. In the case of serious graffiti, during the 5 year period and beyond, which requires many hours of work to repair or repaint, Koppman will also work with Studionaga members, and will expect to be compensated for her time, at a rate of $60/hr.
Ideally, even without damage, it would be great to power-wash the wall it at the 5 year mark, and to potentially re-coat it with sealer at that point. Studionaga will plan to power-wash the wall and to raise @ $300 to pay for additional sealer; Koppman will work with Studionaga members to plan for this event.
Materials:
I will be using Nova Color acrylic paints, a high quality paint which stands up well to weather and grit, has beautiful color, and is wonderful to work with. I will seal the wall with 4 coats of TSW (This Stuff Works) graffiti sealer, which is highly protective against UV light, pollution, and potential graffiti damage.
Drawing: