Art is part of the soul of Oakland. From Jingletown to Uptown, art is on its streets, its walls, its residents and even at the bottom of some of its telephone poles. Therefore, it shouldn’t be a surprise that as you look around for a can in which to toss your empty coffee cup, your eyes will be drawn to a mosaic of color that not only holds your attention but also may result in a civic-inspired smile. These colorful trash cans are the result of a community-driven mosaic movement that has spread from neighborhood to neighborhood since its beginnings in 2010.
The first mosaic-trash-can project was spearheaded by artist and City of Oakland employee Roberto Costa. After a trip to Arcata in 2008, where he was inspired by the town’s mosaic-filled city center, Costa brought the idea home to Oakland. Backed by volunteer support, a small grant from Keep Oakland Beautiful and community donations in the form of materials, he completed the first eight cans, which feature simple pyramid shapes, on the corner of Culver and High Streets in the Allendale neighborhood.
Since then, this organic movement has spread throughout the city, and along with it, the artwork and the level of creativity that go into them have grown. While the projects are sanctioned by the Oakland Adopt a Spot program, the City of Oakland has not officially lent financial support to this artistic cause. It’s the people of the town — the neighbors, business owners and employees — who have put their hearts into each project.
When Vivian Romero, a school counselor at Oakland Technical High School, drove down High Street and spotted one of the colorful receptacles, she decided to bring the concept to her neighborhood group in Adams Point. With guidance from Costa and knowledge gained from watching her father create mosaics as a young girl, she and a group of volunteers tackled more than 25 cans on their side of the city.
Often, the artwork on the cans is inspired by neighborhood businesses and local history. In Maxwell Park, you will find a representation of an Oakland streetcar that once clattered along the same route.
Old Oakland joined the movement in 2013. Led by resident Tiffany Eng, this historic part of the city took a different approach to tackling can beautification. Inspired by a rash of violence that left her unnerved and a strong desire to reduce litter and keep local waterways pollution-free, Eng decided that to clean up their corner of the city, people need to be inspired to put their trash where it belongs. She and her neighbor, Brook Vanderford, took mosaic classes in the Montclair district of Oakland and spent many late nights piecing together mosaic panels inspired by Picasso. The result is a dove carrying acorns at the site of a homicide that occurred on the corner of 10th and Clay Streets. In conjunction with grants from Keep Oakland Beautiful, Capital Impact Partners and the Alameda County Clean Water Program, Eng led a GoFundMe campaign to raise money locally to hire a professional mosaicist to complete additional cans throughout Old Oakland.
Juan Lopez of New World Mosaics, who was involved in can projects in the Adams Point and Temescal districts, has since been the mosaic artist behind the remaining cans in the neighborhood. An Oakland transplant from Santa Fe, Lopez has brought his tile-setting expertise to this intricate art form. Eng and Lopez decided to give a cohesive look to the cans in this section of the city. They used a three-panel design to create a wrapped image of a native bird, which has become a way to determine if you have stepped within the boundaries of this historic neighborhood. From egrets to quails to the pelican I watched take flight, Old Oakland now has a distinct and consistent look from can to can.
Unfortunately, it’s not possible to mosaic all the cans in Oakland. Not all trash cans are constructed in the four-sided cement style, which allows for a flat mosaic panel preassembled on mesh to be applied. Therefore, some will be forever left untouched. Since the mosaic-trash-can project is not catalogued at a local government level, it’s hard to know just how many cans have been decorated and how many have yet to be beautified. Yet projects continue to move forward in various stages. San Pablo Boulevard is being worked on thanks to the East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation (EBALDC), which is working in conjunction with West Oakland artist Lena Toney. The EBALDC is behind the transformation of the historic Swan’s Market in Old Oakland, which is now a mixed-use space and home to local dining hot spots such as Miss Ollie’s and Cosecha. Of course, the appropriate native bird is found on the corner nearby. Future mosaic projects are in the works in the Fruitvale, Dimond and North Oakland neighborhoods.
So as you walk down the streets and through the neighborhoods of Oakland, keep your eyes peeled. A pop of color in the form of a tiled trash can may likely cross your field of vision. Whether it inspires you to toss into it a piece of garbage you find in your pocket or to just pause to admire its message, it will surely have you opening your eyes in search of more of these unique and inspiring pieces of art.
For more information about the Old Oakland mosaic project, led by Tiffany Eng, read her piece featured on the Save The Bay website. A comprehensive set of images can be found on the Mosaic Tile Trash Can page of LocalWiki.
