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If you have walked around downtown Berkeley lately you may have walked by a utility box or two covered with art. This is the result of Ariana Katovich of Streets Alive.

In 2010 Ariana Katovich noticed as she commuted to work in Berkeley, a city that appeared to be monotone in color and not reflective of her perception of Berkeley as a colorful artistic community. This inspired her to start Streets Alive, a restoration initiative of Earth Island Institute, a non-profit Berkeley based organization. In line with that organizations’ goals of preserving the environment, the purpose of the Streets Alive program is to bring art and nature to the Berkeley streets. Her concept is to bring artists and sponsors together to decorate the drab city owned utility boxes with sustainability themed art.

Amelia McCrea, Jasmine Hain, Alaytra Johnson & Lilian Zakki Manahl of YMCA-PGE Teen Center Berkeley

Amelia McCrea, Jasmine Hain, Alaytra Johnson & Lilian Zakki Manahl of YMCA-PGE Teen Center Berkeley

In 2010, 60 boxes located primarily in the downtown area were initially targeted for the program. Sponsors were solicited with a call to artists to participate. While any artist from Alameda County can submit their resume and portfolio, strong preference is given to artists who reside in Berkeley. The definition of artist and sustainability art is broad to encourage participation. The first three boxes were unveiled in October 2011. During the next 12 months 21 more boxes were launched.

As of this time, Streets Alive has rolled out the program to the rest of the city and is currently working with the Downtown Oakland Association to expand the program to that area.

Diego Mendoza

Diego Mendoza

There is a banner across the bottom of each box with the artist name as well as a QR code. Accessing the QR code on your smart phone will give you instantaneous information about the art on that specific box. If you want to see all the boxes, you can print a PDF map from the Streets Alive site.
Berkeley High School Arts & Humanities Academy

Berkeley High School Arts & Humanities Academy

About Streets Alive

Learn more about the organization and program. Find out who the current sponsors and artists are, where the painted and available boxes are located, how to become a sponsor and how to apply to paint a box. Streets Alive