After five years, work is almost finished on the Watsonville Brillante mosaic, splashed across the otherwise dull concrete walls of the six-floor parking garage on Rodriguez Street. A ribbon-cutting street party is set for Oct. 26 to celebrate, says lead artist Kathleen Crocetti.
“We’re planning on closing down Rodriguez Street to make way for the celebration,” Crocetti says. “The community is invited to come meet all the amazing volunteers and artists that helped make this project happen.”
Entertainment will be provided by the Watsonville Community Band, Taiko drummers, White Hawk dancers and Esperanze del Valle folkorico dancers. Plus, there will be food trucks, work by local artists and booths for local nonprofits.
Each phase of the project took six months and featured hundreds of mosaic panels that showcase cultural designs from countries around the globe. Tours of the project will run on the hour in English and on the half-hour in Spanish.
Crocetti said she won the Rydell Fellowship, which provided $20,000 through the Community Foundation of Santa Cruz County.
“I used the money to travel to Europe where I got to see the architectural work of Antoni Gaudí,” she said. “When I came back I decided I wanted to create some kind of monumental artwork in Watsonville. I drew up a plan over the next year and half and presented it to the city. Then I created a nonprofit and secured donations to develop Watsonville Brillante.”
About 80% of the overall project includes ceramic tiles donated by the Aromas-based company Fireclay.
The free event runs 11am–5pm on Oct. 26 at the corner of Rodriguez and Second streets.
