A city is more than its roads, buildings and parking lots. It is also the places, images and creative touches that make residents stop, look and say, “That’s Hollister.”
Take a walk around town and you’ll find plenty of examples.
The mural on Johnny’s wall has become a colorful part of the community’s landscape. Beautifully painted utility boxes turn everyday infrastructure into something worth noticing, while the art piece at the corner of Highway 25 and Meridian Avenue adds a distinctive visual touch to one of the city’s gateways.
These projects may not solve a traffic problem or fix a pothole, but they do something important: They give the community a sense of identity. They create places to pause, look and connect—and give visitors another reason to remember Hollister.
And there’s more.
The San Benito Arts Council recently unveiled five new downtown murals as part of a grant from the California Arts Council to support the inaugural Visión Art Fest. The funding partially supports a community mural festival that created five new murals in Hollister.
According to the Arts Council, the project will uplift local artists, beautify the city, celebrate cultural heritage and strengthen the local creative economy through public art.
The San Benito County Open Studios was held May 16 and 17, but the Santa Clara County Open Studios Art Tour takes place Oct. 24 and 25.
The tour is an opportunity to discover the creativity that exists. Artists will open their studios, share their work and invite residents to see the people and ideas behind it.
It’s also a reminder that art doesn’t belong only in galleries. It can be painted on a wall, wrapped around a utility box, displayed along a busy intersection or created inside a local artist’s studio.
So take the opportunity to explore the Open Studios Art Tour. Visit a studio. Meet an artist. Bring a friend. Support local creativity if you can.
And as you move around Hollister, take a fresh look at the art that has become part of our everyday landscape.
We may take it for granted because it is familiar. But together, these works help tell the story of Hollister and make the city a more distinctive place to live, work and visit.
A vibrant community shouldn’t just be functional. It should have a little imagination, too.
And Hollister does.
