BELMONT
ART & CULTURE PROJECTS
Explore a few of the art and culture projects of which the DBDA has initiated, organized, or partnered on.
EcoBlooms
This DBDA project brought together Belmont Central art students, who under art teacher Anna Smith's leadership, cut and painted thousands of empty water bottles to create beauty out of what would otherwise be trash. Installation on the fence at the City's newly leased parking lot was with the assistance of member's of South Point High School's Color Guard and DBDA volunteers. This colorful public art attracted attention to the newly leased public parking option, helped to make the lot more appealing, imparted a recycle message, while furthering children's art education and community participation.
Belmont History Walk &
Belmont Go App
In an effort to preserve our history, better assimilate newcomers into our City and enhance interest in preservation of our historic downtown buildings, the DBDA interviewed longtime residents and property owners, capturing their personal memories and unique family histories in audio recordings, developing this data into an interactive, self-guided history walk. In order to make this History Walk accessible to a large audience, the DBDA also developed a Belmont Go app supportive of multiple walks, tours and guides for the City. The Belmont Go app is available for free, just use the links below to download.
Greetings From Belmont Mural
The DBDA partnered with the City of Belmont to consult on subject matter and artist selection for the community participatory mural at the Mill Street Parking lot. The community was offered the opportunity during Garibaldi Fest to pick up a paint brush and fill in a color to the design that the artist had outlined. The spools visible on each end of the mural reference the City's textile heritage. This project built upon the DBDA's all volunteer, community created EcoBlooms art fence project of 2018 and brought further attention, participation and color to this newly leased public parking lot.
Artist: Garden of Journey - Georgia Nakima
Trains On Main
The DBDA was thrilled to partner with the City of Belmont on the Trains on Main project designed to provide a fun, history-based, outdoor, educational activity targeted to middle schoolers. The DBDA provided artist resourcing, history, written content, custom printed map design, Belmont Go app tour creation and funding assistance. Turning to Belmont's own nationally and internationally celebrated artist Juan Logan for guidance, the DBDA was able to connect Mr. Logan's colleague Irisol Gonzalez with the City, and soon she was "on board" artistically painting the tiny trains. With that key component underway, the DBDA turned to its many volunteers to take on other aspects of the work.
Trains On Main clues can be found on the Belmont Go app, available for free download from Google Play and the App Store.
Box Art Wrap Initiative
The DBDA sought original art submissions based on themes developed from the area's history. The selected art was applied to vinyl and wrapped around specified signal, electrical and utility boxes in the downtown districts to help visualize and demonstrate district identity while beautifying public spaces. Learn more about the Box Art Wrap Initiative, the art, the artists and the history here.
You can also locate all of the box wraps and learn more details about the artists' inspirations and techniques on the Public Art tour the DBDA created for the Belmont Go App.
The Belmont Go app is available for free download from Google Play and the App Store.
Artist: "Steps Forward" by Artist Holt Harris
