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Transforming Sacramento: Community Graffiti Jam Event

Mutual Housing California and the Capitol Area Development Authority (CADA) were thrilled to announce the collaboration of 30 talented graffiti artists for a unique, community graffiti jam event, “Transforming Sacramento.” This exciting 3-day event took place over Labor Day Weekend, starting at 8 AM on Saturday, August 31, 2024, at 805 R Street, and ended at 2 PM each day, concluding on Monday, September 2, 2024. A small program and celebration were held at noon on September 2nd to honor the artists, event partners, and the upcoming affordable housing project being developed at this location under Governor Newsom’s Excess Site Program for affordable housing development.

Event Highlights

The event celebrated the dynamic art form of graffiti and transformed the entire building at 805 R Street into a vibrant canvas showcasing the unique styles of select local artists with a range of techniques and decades of experience. The community was warmly invited to participate as spectators and engaged in hands-on instruction and painting with these talented and knowledgeable artists.

The theme of the event was transformation, consistent with the State’s Excess Site Program and its transformative focus on providing housing on vacant and underutilized properties. It also aligned with the work of CADA, its nonprofit development arm, the Capitol Area Community Development Corporation (CACDC), and Mutual Housing in cultivating community and providing affordable housing options. The future affordable housing development, called the Monarch, symbolized the way affordable, quality housing changes lives, much like a caterpillar transforms into a monarch butterfly. In line with the theme of transformation, the front of the building was adorned with hundreds of monarch butterflies made from vivid transparencies, casting playful light and shadows. As a second interactive artistic option, community members created and added their butterflies to the building or took them home as keepsakes.

Event Details

Temporary Art Activation

This temporary art installation remained until winter 2024, when the building was scheduled for demolition to make way for “The Monarch,” a new development with 241 affordable apartments and a manager’s unit, along with commercial space on the first floor. The Monarch included units for low and very low-income households, as well as extremely low-income units reserved for formerly homeless households. Marketing and outreach focused on serving the local artist community. CADA and Mutual expressed gratitude to the State Department of General Services (DGS) for their partnership on this art activation and to both DGS and the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) for their efforts in building this and other housing developments on state-owned properties.

The Director of DGS noted, “Our long-standing and continued partnership with CADA has not only resulted in affordable housing to serve the Sacramento community, as the Monarch project will, but has also helped keep the local arts alive,” said California Department of General Services Director Ana M. Lasso. “Creating affordable housing isn’t just about buildings – it’s about embracing the local community and creating beautiful, inviting places where people want to live.”

Community Engagement

“We believed in the positive and engaging nature of graffiti street art and its ability to bring people together and increase understanding within a sanctioned space,” said CADA Executive Director, Danielle Foster. “Transforming Sacramento was about more than just art; it was about cultivating a sense of community and passing down cultural history, expression, and unique skills to the next generation.”

Creating Critically Needed Affordable Housing & Supporting the Arts

“We were excited to introduce Monarch, an affordable housing partnership between Mutual and CADA that not only provided critically needed transit-oriented affordable housing but also worked to support and uplift our local artists,” said Roberto Jimenez, CEO of Mutual Housing. “Our goal was to support the community’s creative spirit while also addressing housing and transportation needs with our largest project to date.”

About the Monarch

The Monarch, located at 805 R Street, was a mixed-use, affordable housing development set to transform a former State of California storage warehouse into a vital community hub. Consistent with the Central City Special Planning District’s requirements, the five-story, 201,456-square-foot building featured:

For more information about the event or the apartment project, visit www.monarch916.com or contact the media relations team.

CADA
Cultivating community by building and maintaining vibrant, sustainable, mixed-use neighborhoods that support California’s capital city.

Mutual Housing California
Founded in 1988, Mutual Housing California develops, manages, and supports sustainable affordable housing where residents are partners in advancing equitable communities.

Kaleidoscopic mural envelops Metropol Building

The two-story Metropol Building at the northeast corner of 14th and O streets has become one of the hippest selfie destinations in Sacramento. The attraction is a mural that envelops the building at 1428 14th Street in brilliantly abstract kaleidoscopic colors against a dramatic midnight-black background.

Transformation story

Curious and admiring visitors are drawn to the brightly decorated building, which encompasses eight apartment units above three ground-floor businesses: Wild Flour Cafe, which specializes in locally sourced salads, egg dishes, sausages and organic ice cream; the Cap City Squeeze juice bar, which serves smoothies, parfaits, açaí and pitaya fruit bowls and other healthful foods; and Toasted, which prepares flavorful creations of avocados, lox and other toppings over toasted bread.

The new imagery on the Metropol, across from Sam’s Market and just up the street from the CADA office, is among many changes to take place in coming years along the O Street frontage. The mural is the work of artist Jose Di Gregorio, a CADA-area resident who studied art in France and whose work has graced structures in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, Detroit, Mexico City and Helsinki, Finland, as well as numerous locations throughout the Sacramento region. The imagery was created with art direction by Karen Ulep, CADA’s marketing and creative services manager. Di Gregorio, who finds canvases confining, favors large areas to express himself visually.

Evoking the whimsy of tie-dye imagery, the Metropol mural is titled “Sonder,” derived from a coined term listed in the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, a compendium of neologisms. “Sonder” is defined as “the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own—populated with their own ambitions, friends, routines, worries and inherited craziness—an epic story that continues invisibly around you like an anthill sprawling deep underground, with elaborate passageways to thousands of other lives that you’ll never know existed.”

Di Gregorio hopes that the immersive mural he created for the Metropol building will help establish connections among the people who gaze upon it and allow it to saturate their imaginations. Social media outlets are buzzing with comments about the “Sonder” mural.

“That is just absolutely breathtaking. So gorgeous! Goosebumps,” wrote a fan named Elysha. “More beautiful than dreams,” Eric wrote. “This is sooooo amazing!!!! Love it!” commented Amber. “I happened upon this last week while on a walk and just had to stand and marvel,” Rebecca said. “That’s awesome art! Fabulous! Thank you,” Jay added.

Those and the remarks of many other admirers confirm that Jose Di Gregorio and his inspired artwork are making a difference at 14th and O.

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