Past Public Art Awards

Public Art Awards

The City of Alameda has issued the following public art grants.

• Rockspinners, Zachary Coffin. A Rockspinner is a multi-ton boulder, which can be spun easily and silently with a single push, compelling viewers to interact and explore while creating a sense of place and an opportunity for fun. Status: Installed fall 2022
• Egret Mural, Dan Fontes. Egret Mural depicts an approximately 14' by 7' egret on the brick facade of Alameda Collision Repair facing Blanding Avenue. Status: Installed spring 2022.
• Calimar, Rossella Scapini. This large bronze squid sculpture features tentacles working as arches and columns, allowing people to walk between the inner and outer space they create.  Status: Installed fall 2021
• Gateway Columns, Norman Moore. Two columns that form a gateway symbolizing the island of Alameda as the gateway for prospectors and the railroad heading east. Status: Installed spring 2021 
• Love Our Island Art Walk, Rhythmix Cultural Works. The "Love Our Island Art Walk" is an art-centric creative placemaking project. Status: This series of art walks was completed in May 2019.

Public Art Small Grants Pilot Program

In 2020, the City of Alameda issued its first round of small grants through the Public Art Small Grants Pilot Program.  Please click here for more information, and a list of grant recipients. 

Cultural Art and Arts Programming Awards

In 2026, the Public Art Commission awarded funding for the following six proposals:

• Circular Futures, West End Arts District
• Youth Show Up, Friends of the Alameda Free Library
• 21st Annual Plein Air Paintout, Frank Bette Center for the Arts
• Radio Day by the Bay, The California Historical Radio Society
• Vessel, Radium Presents
• In Living Colors, Maya Lin PTA

In 2025, the Public Art Commission awarded funding for the following ten proposals:

• Rhythmix in the Parks: Unity Fest, Rhythmix - The Rhythmix in the Parks: Unity Fest will present four family-friendly “mini festivals” featuring performances of music and dance highlighting the vibrant artistic cultural traditions of Africa and the African Diaspora in Alameda City parks from August 2025 – June 2026.
• Circus Bella at Radium Runway, Radium Presents Inc. - Radium Presents is thrilled to bring Circus Bella's enchanting one-ring circus to Alameda Point, offering a vibrant celebration of circus arts that bridges generations and cultures.
• DeepDIVE: Under the Waves, West End Arts and Entertainment District - DeepDIVE is a two-part multimedia performance piece exploring the mystery of the ocean, using video, music, dance, and large projections onto the Posey Tube building.
• Alameda Haunts Contest & Fete de Rattlin' Bones 20th Anniversary Celebrations, FunAmeda Productions LLC - Alameda Haunts is a safe, family-friendly, city-wide Halloween house decorating contest that historically takes place on the three days leading up to October 31.
• Radio Day by the Bay, California Historical Radio Society - Radio Day by the Bay 2025 is CHRS’s flagship annual event, celebrating the artistic and cultural legacy of radio through live performances, historical exhibits, and community engagement.
• Whispers of the Sanctuary, Alameda Civic Ballet - Whispers of the Sanctuary is a new original ballet conceived by Alameda Civic Ballet, inspired by the quiet beauty and ecological richness of the Elsie Roemer Bird Sanctuary in Alameda, California.
• Hana Hou - Makana's Biennial Ho'ike, Halau Makana Polynesian Cultural Arts Center, Inc. - Hālau Makana will produce their biennial cultural hōʻike, a vibrant performance that celebrates the rich traditions of Polynesian dance, singing, and drumming. This hōʻike will provide a dynamic platform to share the beauty and depth of Hawaiian, Tahitian, and Maori cultures with the broader community, promoting cross-cultural understanding and appreciation.
• Plein Air Paintout 2025, Frank Bette Center for the Arts Inc. - The Frank Bette Plein Air Paintout hosts up to 40 juried artists for a week of painting tree-lined streets, stately Victorian homes and shops, picturesque marinas, historic naval ships and naval air station, as well as beaches, lagoons, parks, and San Francisco and Oakland skylines in the island city of Alameda, CA.
• The Foodbank Players - The Foodbank Players will use the City of Alameda Arts Grant to cover the operating expenses for their 2025 season and beyond. They will put on Hamlet in September 2025, A Christmas Carol in December 2025, Raisin in the Sun in March 2026, and Midsummer Nights Dream in June 2026.
• Alameda Native History Project's ACORNS!, Alameda Native History Project - ACORNS! combines interactive experiences, art education, functional public art installations, and land-based cultural arts events, to preserve Native American heritage, educate the public about local Native History, and foster appreciation and representation of Native American Culture in the City of Alameda.

In 2024, the Public Art Commission awarded funding for the following eight proposals:

• Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Festival, Forward Alameda, Inc. A one-day no admission outdoor production highlighting the unique cultural aspects of the many countries of the Asian Pacific Islander community.
•  Somewhere to Land, West End Arts District, A multimedia performance created on Alameda Point's Building 25 with BANDALOOP, the perspective-bending, vertical dance company, envisaging the re-wilding of the Alameda Naval Air Base.
• Rhythmix Rising Seas Project, Rhythmix Cultural Works, With one gallery exhibition and five free public performances, Rising Seas will highlight a diversity of Bay Area ensembles who share Alameda’s concerns about rising sea levels.
• Together in Motion Dance Festival, Little Opera House,  a dynamic, one-day festival featuring a diversity of movement and dance styles in our community. Held at Radium Runway, the event will serve as an event to inspire artistic expression and cultural exchange.
• Alameda Here is Anywhere, FunAmeda Productions LLC, a mid-week, 5-hour event at the Alameda Comedy Club to showcase and screen the recently produced film, Alameda – Here is Anywhere (PG-13) free of charge to a wide, diverse local audience.
• Fiesta Alameda, West End Arts and Entertainment District, Fiesta Alameda is a one-day celebration of Latinx music, dance, and food and art, free to the public, open and accessible to all.
• La Bayadere, Alameda Civic Ballet,  Alameda Civic Ballet (ACB) is eager to enhance Alameda's cultural scene by converting their studio space into a black box theater, showcasing "La Bayadère," and launching new, original ballet productions.
• Rhythmix in the Parks, Rhythmix Cultural Works, Rhythmix in the Parks will present three free family concerts and an afternoon-length ‘Round the World - Music, Dance & Art Festival. The program will feature multicultural performances and hands-on art activities for the residents of Alameda and the East Bay, highlighting music and dance from Africa, Asia, Southeast Asia, Latin & South America and the Pacific Islands.
  

In July of 2022, the Public Art Commission approved grant funding for the following six proposals:

• Back Story, Anchor Alameda Association for Art & Film. Back Story took place on three separate evenings between August, 2022 and January, 2023, and again on three continuous nights in February, 2023 as a lead up to the Alameda International Film Festival. A different film and speaker was procured for each event in the series. The event series was held at the historic Alameda Theatre & Cineplex.
• Plein Air Paintout, Frank Bette Center for the Arts. The Plein Air Paintout is an annual show featuring artists who paint outside in Alameda during the first week of August. The grant was used to support an outdoor festival featuring free art demonstrations, instruction, portrait models for drawing, kid’s activities and live music. This event was held in July and August, 2023.
• PAL in the Parks, Rhythmix Cultural Works. PAL in the Parks presented two culturally-themed events in 2023: an Asian-American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Celebration in May and a Hispanic Heritage Celebration in September. Each PAL in the Parks event offered free multicultural performances and hands-on arts activities for the residents of Alameda and the East Bay. 
• Fiesta Alameda, West Alameda Business Association. Fiesta Alameda is a one-day celebration of Latinx music, dance, and food and art, free to the public, open and accessible to all. This event took place in November, 2023.
• East Bay Open Studies Alameda, Oakland Art Murmur. East Bay Open Studios in Alameda took place across two weekends in June, 2023 and provided family-friendly, self-guided tours of artist studios and exhibition spaces throughout the city.
• Breath, Tara Pilbrow Dance. This performance will recreate, expand, and refine 'Breathe', a work created for three dancers in July 2021. The final version of Breathe will be performed as part of a mixed bill at the Radium Runway performance venue in Alameda Point, alongside a showcase of 2-3 local youth groups in spring 2024.

Public Art Mailing List

If you have any questions or would like to join our public art mailing list for regular updates, please contact Jackie Keliiaa at jkeliiaa@alamedaca.gov or at 510-561-9616.