

A group of local artists, teachers, chefs and community organizers is working to produce a mural on the south-facing wall of Virginia Bakery at 1690 Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley (above).
The theme of the piece will be sustainable agriculture and the Slow Food culture of North Berkeley. The artists have worked with students from MLK Middle School this year to develop ideas and images that will be incorporated into the mural, and they are inviting the community to provide input and support for the project.
The mural has been endorsed by the Berkeley Cultural Arts Commission and the North Shattuck Association and ACCI Gallery are providing seed money and technical support for the project. The artists have worked on several other murals and community art projects in Berkeley and the East Bay, and the project coordinator, David Stern-Gottfried, has completed several large-scale murals in Philadelphia.
A fundraising party to support the mural project will be held at the ACCI Gallery on Thursday, July 1 from 6-8pm. There will be a guest speaker, a raffle and a silent auction.
See the Growing Connections Mural website for more information, including how to make tax-deductible donations to the project through The Berkeley Foundation for the Arts, the non-profit arm of the ACCI Gallery.