Santa Barbara was one of 10 cities chosen to receive a $100,000 grant and technical assistance from Bloomberg Philanthropies for a new asphalt art installation at the corner of State and Carrillo streets, bringing a splash of color and safety improvements to one of the city’s busiest intersections.
The grant is part of Bloomberg’s Asphalt Art Initiative, which has funded 100 projects across Canada, Mexico, and the United States since 2020, creating a public art project in each city that not only livens up the streets but also upgrades the safety and accessibility for pedestrians and cyclists. Santa Barbara’s custom design will also include elements that celebrate Mexican and Mixteco art and culture.
The 10 winners for this year’s grants were announced on Bloomberg’s social media accounts Monday, with Santa Barbara being selected as one of four American cities along with Cleveland, Ohio; Portland, Oregon; and Lynn, Massachusetts. Four cities in Mexico were selected — Mexico City, Monterrey, Hermosillo, and Culiacán Rosales — and two Canadian cities, Ottawa and Winnipeg.
A local project team made up of members of the Santa Barbara County Office of Arts & Culture and State Street Master Planning Team led the city through the application process, selecting the intersection of State and Carrillo Streets as the location for the public art installation.
“Thrilled the city of Santa Barbara is one of the 10 selected winners throughout the U.S., Canada, and Mexico,” State Street Master Planner Tess Harris wrote on a social media post announcing the award. “Can’t wait to bring asphalt art downtown to State Street. Thank you Bloomberg Philanthropies!”
While full details are still to come, the city will also receive technical support from Bloomberg Associates in order to implement design elements that are intended to make the street safer. One of the first major projects done by Bloomberg Philanthropies was the pedestrianization of Times Square in New York City, which resulted in a drop in pedestrian injuries and a spike in retail sales. Bloomberg’s safety study conducted in 2022 found that asphalt art projects in the U.S. resulted in a 50 percent drop in collisions between pedestrians and cyclists, and a 27 percent increase in drivers yielding to pedestrians.
“Public art has the power to reshape the way we experience our cities,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies and former mayor of New York City. “Art could remake streets and improve public safety, inspire people, draw in visitors, and enhance residents’ quality of life.”
Tristen Miller, a representative of Strong Towns Santa Barbara — a group that has been advocating for a lively, safe, and pedestrian-free State Street — said the announcement of the asphalt art grant shows how “popular and extraordinary the State Street promenade is, not just with locals but with the grant judges at Bloomberg.”
“The fact that Bloomberg chose State Street in Santa Barbara from among hundreds of cities that applied to the grant reinforces the idea that our promenade is a unique and innovative urban location,” Miller said. “This grant opens a world of possibilities, which can reinvigorate the interim promenade until the master plan can be built. Street art can be used to celebrate placemaking, display the skills of local artists and stories, build community, and just make everything livelier!”
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