Four new public art pieces now stand at city-owned sites across downtown San Rafael, the first visible results of a state-funded program that placed murals, mosaics, and sculptures along the commercial corridor between Fourth Street and B Street.

The City of San Rafael announced on July 9 that the Downtown San Rafael Arts District has rebranded as "San Rafael Arts," with a new logo and website at sanrafaelarts.org. The rebrand caps a multi-year effort between the city and eight nonprofit arts partners, including Art Works Downtown, the California Film Institute, the Community Media Center of Marin, and the Downtown San Rafael Business Improvement District.

The public art program is funded by a California Arts Council grant. The city's July 9 announcement lists the allocation at $260,000, while the city's program page and partner Local Edition Creative both cite $250,000. San Rafael's designation as one of 14 California Cultural Arts Districts made the state funding possible. Local Edition Creative, a Bay Area arts consulting firm, curated the program with guidance from the district's steering committee.

Four pieces installed, one more coming

Four of five installations are complete:

  • "Handle With Care" by Bryan Valenzuela — a two-panel, 2,000-square-foot mural on the C Street parking garage, formed entirely through stippled handwritten text, documented on Instagram by @thecityofsanrafael.
  • "Where the Fountain Dreams" by San Francisco-based artist Paz de la Calzada — a ceramic tile and mural installation at the City Plaza Fountain on Fourth Street. @localeditionmktg shared a look at the finished piece on Instagram.
  • "San Rafael Tapestry" by Wyatt Hersey — an 210-foot mural on the 2nd Street retaining wall at Ida Street, depicting local wildlife and landscape. Both @localeditionmktg and @thecityofsanrafael featured the mural on their Instagram accounts.
  • "Touch the Sky" by Martin Taylor — a stainless steel and gold-paint sculpture at the San Rafael Community Center, 618 B Street, reflecting Taylor's "metal origami" style. The piece, previously exhibited in Napa and Vacaville, will move to its permanent home at the Second and Fourth streets intersection later in 2026. @thecityofsanrafael posted the sculpture to Instagram.

A fifth installation, an 18-foot abstract steel sculpture by Oleg Lobykin, is scheduled to arrive at City Hall on Friday, August 29. Unlike the other four, which join the city's permanent civic art collection, Lobykin's piece will be a temporary one-year exhibition.

How it happened

San Rafael City Council authorized the program in June 2025. A call for artists drew nearly 200 applicants, and a public input survey on semifinalist proposals collected more than 1,000 responses. The Public Art Review Board reviewed final designs on January 14, 2026, and City Council approved the five selections on Monday, February 2.

The grant also funded over a dozen additional city arts initiatives, including support for privately funded murals, arts classes, and programming at community events.

The Lobykin sculpture arrives August 29 at City Hall. All four completed installations are viewable along the downtown corridor between the C Street garage and the Community Center on B Street.