City of Stockton
Arnold Rue Community Center
Stockton,
CA
"Heart
of the City"
A Community center must quite literally reflect the heart of its residents
and business.
My vision is to create a vibrant welcoming environment to its visitors
where those who enter feel a pride of ownership and sense of belonging.
An important part of my childhood was spent in this valley and I have
grown to understand and value its beauty and resources. Residents and
visitors of Stockton enjoy the benefits of being immersed in agricultural
bounty and surrounded by people who have origins from all around the world.
The Panella Community Center’s ability to fulfill a number of basic
needs is what brings the residents of Stockton together. These include
the needs for companionship, childcare, education, expression through
the arts, exercise, play and enjoying a hot meal. Celebrating cultural
distinctions help us realize how many things we have in common as a community.
It is my intention to capture these moments and inspire the present through
hopeful and idyllic images while at the same time celebrate the rich heritage
of the region and honor past history.
Within the gallery, a mural will reflect the history of the central valley,
a place where people from all over the country and all around the world
came together as pioneers following and fulfilling their hopes and dreams.
The mural will celebrate Stockton’s diverse community is the result
of this spirit- its richness of culture and ethnic diversity and depict
a visual cornucopia of human social interaction. Ethnic diversity, tolerance
and mutual respect for those different from ourselves is a powerful legacy
of the original inhabitants of this community and its’ center.
Images which mirror the positive qualities of the City, its beautiful
geographic setting and the rich cultural mix of its inhabitants, with
an eye to both natural beauty and modern industry of the city will be
the basis for the mural, a painting to both inspire and delight the community.
Images might include scenes of people working together toward common goals
including: constructing buildings living and working on the port, harvesting
food in the valley, sharing a meal, cooking with sound nutrition in mind,
reading books aloud to children or someone reading quietly alone. Other
painted images may show people learning and working on computers, cultural
heritage celebrations, making visual art and performing art and playing
sports together, exercise for mind and body.
Events, both historical and contemporary may be woven together into an
epic painting. The images portray the power of our history to build our
future, bringing community members together to experience and appreciate
our common ground and what a community means.
The community Center is the center of community life, a place where people
come together for many reasons. The Panella Community Center is so rich
in ethnic diversity, a literal microcosm of true America.
The celebration of cultural identity while honoring history and recognizing
the common hopes, dreams and needs which humanity shares mirrors the essence
of my work and truly inspires me. This project is near to my heart; I
am honored to have the opportunity to make artwork for this beautiful
center.
Mary Josephson
2008
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