Excellence on Main Award

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Camas Culture Art Block

Award: Outstanding Special Project

Year: 2024

City: Camas

The Outstanding Special Project Award is an annual award that recognizes great projects or activities that affect a downtown or neighborhood commercial district’s revitalization efforts. The Downtown Camas Association (DCA) has been named the 2024 Outstanding Special Project Award recipient for their work creating the Camas Culture Art Block in collaboration with artist Maria Navarro Alejandres and educator Miranda Wakeman.

After trying for years to add colorful art panels to downtown Camas’ Fifth Avenue, the Downtown Camas Association connected with Maria Navarro Alejandres, who herself dreamed of celebrating her Mexican heritage through the creation of a mural in downtown Camas. When Maria and her art teacher Miranda Wakeman met with the DCA in fall of 2023, the visions merged and evolved from a single mural to an “art block” concept where more cultural expression through art could be showcased and celebrated. The DCA secured space for the art block by partnering with Ziply Fiber to install panels on the side of their Fifth Avenue building.

The DCA also worked with Maria and Mrs. Wakeman to create a call for artists that went out to high school students in Camas, inviting them to submit art that celebrated their cultures. Six art pieces were ultimately juried and selected, representing six student-artists’ self-identified cultures, including Mexican, Chinese, Indian, LGBTQ+, car culture, and anime. On May 17, 2024, a ribbon-cutting and art unveiling drew more than 100 people to Fifth Avenue. The reception that followed focused on the artists, their families, and the cultures they celebrate through their art. The artist’s statements—about their culture and what it means to them—are available online and linked through a QR code on the wall.

“Tonight, we celebrate the Camas Culture Art Block for creatively activating space, building partnerships, and celebrating diversity,” noted Washington Main Street Director Breanne Durham at the Excellence on Main ceremony. “We also celebrate Maria—for her leadership, vision, and initiative.”