3 new public artworks are coming to a Berkeley park near you

Mockup of “Enchanted Forest” as it will be displayed at the Willard Clubhouse. Credit: City of Berkeley/Julie W. Chang

Three new public artworks are slated for West and South Berkeley. 

They include a large mural for the new and expanded Willard Park clubhouse, a dog-themed mosaic in Cesar Chavez Park and a mural at Aquatic Park depicting lagoon life. 

Of the three, only the Willard Park mural, which has a budget of $135,000, is city-funded. The dog-themed mosaic was donated by its artist. and the Aquatic Park mural was paid for by Commotion West Berkeley.

Berkeley’s Civic Arts Commission unanimously greenlit the three artworks at last Wednesday’s meeting. 

The city is now seeking a muralist to create a mosaic on the side of a building in Grove Park. Also in the pipeline are public art projects at the African American Holistic Resource Center and South Berkeley Senior Center.

Textile-inspired mosaic for Willard Park

“Enchanted Forest” project proposal. Credit: City of Berkeley/Julie W. Chang

San Francisco-based contemporary artist Julie W. Chang’s mosaic mural for Willard Park, titled “Enchanted Forest,” draws inspiration from Berkeley’s flora and fauna and Willard Park’s history as a gathering space. 

The planned mural, which will be located on the clubhouse’s interior lobby wall and meant to be visible from outside, depicts various symbols from nature including the dawn redwood, fuchsia, barn owl and California mountain kingsnake. It also references ancient textile patterns including the Llalin, which symbolizes wisdom, and the Boafo Ye Na, a symbol of support, cooperation and teamwork.

Chang intends for the mosaic to “serve as a talisman, a celebration of community in harmony with our natural environment, a reminder that we are more powerful together than apart,” she wrote in her project proposal. She was chosen out of a pool of 135 applicants, unanimously approved by the Willard Clubhouse Artist Review Panel, Public Art Subcommittee, Civic Arts Commission, and received the majority of support in a community survey, according to the city. 

Dog-themed guerilla mosaic to officially return

Canine-themed tile mosaic titled “If dogs run free.” Credit: City of Berkeley/Lynn Jones

This winter, a 37-by-56-inch canine-themed tile mosaic at Cesar Chavez Park is set to make its official return to the back of the bulletin board at the park’s off-leash area for dogs. 

The 40-pound mosaic was made and donated by artist Lynn Jones, who “took it upon herself to create the piece,” according to city spokesperson Sueng Lee. 

“If dogs run free, then why not we?” the mosaic reads. It features 11 colorful dogs playing with tennis balls and chasing one another. 

The back of the bulletin board at Cesar Chavez Park’s off-leash area for dogs. Credit: City of Berkeley

Jones wrote on Instagram that she had previously installed the “guerilla art work” on the long-empty back of the bulletin board in late March. She spent more than 300 hours fabricating the mosaic, according to her post. A week later, it was taped over with a notice that it would be removed by April 3. 

The installation will be on temporary display through June 2026 but could be extended pending the site and the mural’s condition, according to the city. 

Aquatic Park’s restroom to get a splash of color

Mock-up of “Between Land and Sea.” Credit: City of Berkeley/Wallflower Arts

A painted mural titled “Between Land and Sea” for Aquatic Park in West Berkeley will be installed on the exterior of the park’s public restroom in spring 2025. It’s created by Wallflower Arts mural artist Meg Schwarzman, who was trained as a family physician and worked as an environmental health scientist. 

The mural depicts lagoon life, including a great blue heron, sturdy bulrush, topsmelt, leopard shark, mallard and bat ray. It attempts to bridge a gap between “what’s visible and what’s just out of sight,” according to the artist’s presentation to the city. 

Because of a planned construction project, the mural, which will be painted on plywood and mounted to the building’s exterior, will only be on display through December 2025, after which it could be reinstalled somewhere else. It was funded via a private grant to the artist from the art crowdfunding group Commotion West Berkeley. 

Berkeley seeks artist for mosaic at Grove Park

Berkeley’s Civic Arts division is looking for an artist to design a mosaic mural for its Martin Luther King Jr. Youth Services Center. Credit: City of Berkeley

Berkeley’s Civic Arts division is looking for an artist to design a mosaic mural for its Martin Luther King Jr. Youth Services Center. 

The center, built in the 1950s and located in South Berkeley’s Grove Park, is set to undergo a seismic retrofit and other upgrades. After receiving public feedback from community meetings, focus group workshops, park canvassing and an online survey, the city opted to commission a mural, according to the city’s application page. 

The 886-square-foot mural would be displayed on two of the building’s exterior walls as well as the lobby. All professional practicing artists and creative teams residing in the U.S. and its territories are eligible to apply. Applications are due Jan. 31 and installation is slated for fall 2027. 

The mural should be welcoming to people of all ages, relate to the youth center or surrounding community, and “promote neighborhood connections, a sense of belonging, inclusivity, and play,” according to the application page. The center offers free and affordable tutoring, violence prevention and leadership development programs for teens and young adults. 

In the first round, three Bay Area artists will screen applicants and advance around 20% of the total applications received. The three artists will then be joined by representatives from the Civic Arts Commission, Parks, Recreation and Waterfront Commission, the architect team and “the community,” according to the application page and will assign applicants a score based on their perceived “creativity” and “experience.” Berkeley artists will get a boost in points. 

The three highest-scoring applicants will be paid an honorarium of $2,000 plus travel reimbursement to visit the site, participate in a Q&A session with the project team and create a more detailed proposal. One of the three finalists’ proposals will be chosen and sent to the Civic Art Commission’s Public Art Subcommittee for approval, after which it will head to the entire Civic Art Commission, which has final say. 

The selected artist could receive up to $442,000 to cover project costs, including design, fabrication, transportation and installation. They must also provide a cleaning and maintenance plan for the artwork. 

The project is expected to cost the city up to $487,000 in total, $337,000 of which comes out of a cultural trust fund that developers must pay into if they decide not to include public art on their private projects. The remaining $150,000 is from the infrastructure bond Measure T1, passed by Berkeley voters in November 2016, according to the city’s 2025 fiscal year public art budget.

The city-funded art commissions for Willard and Grove Park are part of a wider effort to “ensure equity and access” and place public art in communities that currently have limited access to public art, according to Lee. 

In June, the city unveiled a large bronze sculpture by artist Mildred Howard near Ashby BART. The $354,000 sculpture was a tribute to Howard’s mother, activist Mable Howard, who stopped BART from dividing South Berkeley.