Ventura County’s Arts & Culture Division has received a $75,000 Our Town award from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to support the Channeling Murals project, a public art and workforce development initiative.

Local artists will work with justice-involved youth, alongside other community and county agencies, to design and install a nearly mile-long mural inside the Moon Ditch Overflow Channel located off Highway 101 in the city of Ventura.

The grant is one of 68 nationwide, totaling $5 million, that the NEA has approved in the Our Town category.

The creative placemaking grants support projects that integrate arts, culture, and design activities into local efforts to strengthen and authentically engage communities, center equity, advance artful lives, and lay the groundwork for long-term systems change.

“Projects like Channeling Murals exemplify the creativity and care with which communities are telling their stories, creating connection, and responding to challenges and opportunities in their communities — all through the arts,” said NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson.

“So many aspects of our communities such as cultural vitality, health and wellbeing, infrastructure, and the economy are advanced and improved through investments in art and design, and the National Endowment for the Arts is committed to ensuring people across the country benefit,” she said.

Channeling Murals is a collaborative project that involves the County Supervisorial District 1 Office, Ventura County Public Works Agency – Watershed Protection, Ventura County Probation Agency, County Arts and Culture Division, and the Ventura County Arts Council.

“We are deeply honored to receive national recognition for the Channeling Murals project through this grant from the NEA,” said David Yoshitomi, Arts and Culture manager for Ventura County.

“This project exemplifies how artists can collaborate with communities and local government to achieve shared goals, highlighting the extensive value arts and culture bring to our county,” he said.

“We envision the mural to become a landmark for Ventura County, beautifying our community while offering professional opportunities for local artists and a workforce development program for justice involved youth through its creation,” he said.
 
Project updates and opportunities will be posted on the County of Ventura’s Arts and Culture webpage.

For more on the projects included in the Arts Endowment grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.