#community-revitalization

#community-revitalization

There are shared languages that transcend what is written down or spoken aloud. Young people seem to understand this better than most. The teenagers at a recent after-school study hour in East Oakland spoke mainly in Spanish, but when they exchanged knowing grins, or burst into sudden laughter, it was clear that even behind a language barrier, this was an environment they trusted.

A community-inspired mural project aims to beautify and revitalize a neighborhood in East San Jose. Artists gathered for the East Side Stories mural painting festival Saturday, complete with a DJ and lowrider cars around Tropicana Liquors on Story Road. Muralists created images of the Virgin Mary, lowriders and Mesoamerican symbols on the liquor store's exterior walls. They also transformed the exteriors of Car & Truck Auto Clinic, East Hills Veterinary Clinic and Wash America on Story Road and S&S Market on Capitol Expressway. The festival, curated by 1Culture art gallery owner Andrew Espino, celebrated the heritage and traditions of immigrant cultures in the area.

"Most people would be winding down or thinking about retirement, and he's going off on this really risky venture," said his daughter Amy Jackson. "I think for him it just really mattered about having something of your own that you could really bring all of yourself to. He always used to say, 'Why rent something when you can buy it?'"

I'm going tell you about an audacious idea that sounds almost impossible, one that is rooted in dreams about symbolic and literal unity of our nation. It is both a distraction from and answer to our country's problems in 2025, and it relies on an unshakeable faith in humanity and community. It reaches into the future while looking into the past, and stepping foot on it can change a person's life.

If you were to have visited the 3600 Block of Heidelberg Street in Detroit around 1986, you would have likely encountered a young artist beginning the project of a lifetime. Found object assemblages and painted patterns were quickly transforming a neighborhood that had experienced mass disinvestment, turning grassy lots and abandoned homes into an enclave of creativity. Soon, an immersive, vernacular art environment emerged and was at once an amalgamation of everyday materials and what seemed to be a mystical translation from another realm.

The former Century 21 site will be redeveloped into 'Century Marketplace,' a $100 million project that aims to transform it into a 95,000-square-foot retail complex.

"We're not just doing good for the environment. We're creating paid work and valuable job experience," said Renee Ruhl, Intervine program director. "This is really a social enterprise, because..."

The eight remaining casino developers bid to create jobs, generate tax revenue, and revitalize communities in New York City, with applications due by June 27.

"I'm working on a triple album," he said.

Coven's opening comes against the backdrop of a gradual decline in queer venues in the capital. Figures show more than half of London's LGBTQ venues closed from 2006 to 2022.

The 'Chinatown Lion Dance Photo Exhibition' aims to celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month by showcasing the cultural significance of lion dancing in San Francisco's historic Chinatown.